The Lincoln Meeting

 As the start of the flat season looms ahead, we have a look into the history of the Lincoln meeting. 

The meeting initially started at Lincoln's racecourse which was open from 1773 to 1964. A year after the racecourse shut the meeting relocated to Doncaster. 

The racecourse shut after the Betting Levy Board stopped financially supporting them and regardless of council pleas the closure still happened. 

Lincoln racecourse first ran the Lincoln Handicap in 1849 and since then the name has altered starting as the Lincolnshire Handicap then going to the Lincoln Spring Handicap before changing to the name we are familiar with now. The race itself has changed a huge amount going from a 2 mile race to a 1 mile in 1855. Allegedly the Lincoln Handicap had the biggest field ever in 1948 with 58 horses running. 

Since the meeting began there's been a handful of occasions where the meeting was run in different places like Lingfield in 1961, Pontefract 1942-1944, Redcar in 2006 and Newcastle in 2007. The more recent relocations were a result of redevelopment work at the normal course. 

Despite,  Lincoln racecourse shutting in 1964 the Grand Stand and the rails are still up and there have been multiple rumours over the past couple of years about it reopening to no avail. 

The two-day meeting has grown to new a scale with there now being other huge races run like the Brocklesby and the Doncaster Mile Stakes. The entries will be made today for the first day of the meeting; let's hope to see some new stars for the start of the flat season.