The first race meeting on the course from which the stadium takes its name took place exactly 200 years ago – on September 29, 1807 – making it the oldest sporting venue in Wales.

The Racecourse also continues to play host to the Welsh national side, making it the oldest international football ground currently in use anywhere in the world.

As part of the birthday celebrations, various Wrexham FC supporters groups will be running a pantomime horse race at half-time at the home game against Lincoln City FC, also raising money for local charities and worthy causes as nominated by the supporter groups.

Wrexham supporters are further hoping that this historic occasion will also mark a change in the team's fortunes this season.

Phil Wynn of the Wrexham Supporters Trust said: "It promises to be a great day.

"The pantomime horse race should be great fun and involves participants from different supporters groups.

"Lincoln City away was the turning point for our late run of wins last year and I'm hoping that the same turnaround will happen when Wrexham meet them this Saturday.

"The ground is very important to the town; it's a fascinating history and it's a very significant occasion.

"It would be very sad if we didn't make the most of this event, so I'd encourage fans to get down to the ground to watch the game and the half-time race and to bring some change to donate to charity."

Glyn Davies, of the Wrexham FC Collectors and History Society, has compiled a history of the site since the first race meeting.

The first race, in 1807, was called the Town Purse and was won by Belinda, owned by Lord Stanford, who collected a prize of 20 Guineas, the equivalent of nearly £4,000 today.

The course ran in an anti-clockwise direction around the area now occupied by The Racecourse ground itself and parts of NEWI.

The start and finishing post were near The Turf pub and what was the final straight is now occupied by the Mold Road Stand.

The races were held annually until the main sponsor, Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, withdrew his support, apparently due to pressure from local churchmen, who claimed that the races had "developed a reputation for attracting drunkenness and violence".

Between 1867 and 1872 the Racecourse was used as the venue for the autumn sports, a family day, with the main sporting events being donkey races and cycle races.

There was a brief revival of races on the site from 1873 to 1876, but they then ceased, reportedly due to poor attendences.

Pony racing, introduced to the course in 1890, initially proved to be very popular but ended, however, when a rail strike caused the 1911 meeting to be cancelled. The last ever race was run on August 26, 1912.

The football club had been formed, in 1872, from Wrexham Cricket Club, who also used the Racecourse site.

A meeting was convened at The Turf Hotel on September 28, 1872,
for '"the purpose of starting a football club for the ensuing season (winter)".

During the early part of the 20th century, the football ground had developed and, by 1912, had become fully enclosed.

The running track was realigned so that the pitch was outside the racing circuit.

The racetrack started to be used for aerial displays and one, in October 1912, featured pioneering aviator Gustav Hamel, with spectators watching the display from the stands of the football ground.

The displays ended the following year after Hamel decided to land on the playing pitch.

It had been raining and he was unable to brake on the wet surface, ultimately colliding with the crowd barrier at the other end of the ground.

No-one was hurt, but flying displays were subsequently scrapped.
The course was often used during the 1920s and 1930s as a private airfield by flying enthusiasts.

Wrexham Borough Council wanted to create a municipal aerodrome on the site, and offered to pay for an aircraft hangar to be built, but the site lay outside the borough until a boundary change in 1935, by which time there were so many houses nearby that the the plans had to be abandoned.

The racetrack finally disappeared under housing and the new technical college (NEWI) in the 1950s.

All that is left of the course today is The Turf, five stewards badges held at the Denbighshire Records Office in Ruthin and the name of the famous old football ground.

The Racecourse ground retains a special place in Welsh sporting history, particularly, of course, for Wrexham fans.

Saturday's home game against Lincoln City kicks off at 3.00pm.


Bright future if right plans get go-ahead

WHILE the famous old ground has a proud history, the club which calls it home has one eye firmly on the future, with plans to make the Racecourse into a 'Millennium Stadium of the North'.

Detailed plans of how the ground will look in the future are still yet to be revealed, but Wrexham's co-owner Neville Dickens told the Leader what he expects for the future of the ground.

Mr Dickens said: "I hope we can secure the future of this historic ground and that 50 years from now, children will have similar fond memories to those I have.

"If we are successful in obtaining funding for updating areas of the ground that have been neglected for years it will go a long way towards international games being held here, thereby helping us achieve our aims for the future.

"We can achieve this with the ongoing support of the fans, Wrexham Council and various funding organisations.

"We have made great strides in building on the infrastructure of the club.

"We have, in Colliers Park, a first class centre of excellence that is the envy of many clubs in the higher divisions.

"When parents visit they are delighted to see the work of the professional coaches.

"The future of Wrexham Football Club also has to be to bring children up through the club, to play in the team.

"The future as we see it is to create an all-seater international stadium which can be the Millennium Stadium of the North – not just hosting league games but a venue for concerts, celebrity matches, rugby and international football.

"We want to create a stadium that Wrexham and North Wales can be proud of.

"This is what this part of the world deserves.

"With the help of Wrexham fans, the council and funding organisations I'm confident that this is what we will achieve.

"All the staff and the owners are determined to do this."

Previous development plans for the ground and the area around it, included the building of apartments, shops and a new stand.

These plans were sent back to the drawing board after developers McNiven Cameron said the plans would need to change to meet the changing demands of the housing market.

Wrexham Council also raised some issues with the original plans and members of the community were worried the building of some apartments would be too high.

The developers also reassured fans earlier this year that the historic pub, the Turf Hotel, would not be affected by the development.

New plans are due to be submitted to the council shortly.


What was your most memorable day at the Racecourse?

For everyone associated with Wrexham FC, the ground has provided the setting for a host of treasured memories and golden moments.

Dixie McNeil, legendary Wrexham goalscorer, said: "The Racecourse holds far too many good memories for me to single any out.

"I know it's a cliche but I really don't have any bad memories associated with playing at the ground.

"I started my career in the football league there, believe it or not playing for another club, Exeter City, way back in 1966.

"New stadiums are great but you can't beat the old grounds like the Racecourse – there is always such a wonderful atmosphere there."

Phil Wynn, Wrexham Supporters Trust board member, said: "The first time I remember going to the Racecourse was, when I was a child, was to watch Wrexham v Middlesbrough in the FA Cup in 1973.

"All I can recall was that we won, it was a very muddy pitch, and the old away shed at the the paddock end of the Yale Stand was crammed full of Middlesbrough fans.

"I suppose that one of my happiest memories would be when we beat Rotherham 7-1 and were promoted to the second division."

Neville Dickens, current co-owner of the club, said: "My memories of Wrexham Racecourse are many, including seeing stars such as John Charles, Trevor Ford, Ivor Allchurch and Cliff Jones, the flying Spurs winger, playing for Wales.

"One game in particular sticks out in my mind.

"I think it was Wales v Austria when John Charles, 'The Gentle Giant', lost his cool.

"Mel, his brother, was floored by a tough looking Austrian defender.

"John ran straight over, picked this guy up with one hand, as if he were a rag-doll, and gave him a warning about his future well-being. I don't know what exactly he said, but we didn't see that defender much for the rest of the game.

"I also remember the sold out game between Wrexham and Manchester United when you had to attend a reserve match before the big day in order to get a ticket.

"I've never seen people wanting to pay to get in twice other than that reserve game.

"There were people paying to get in, climbing over the fence to get out, and paying to get in again so that they could get extra tickets for the United game.

"I've been going to the racecourse since the late 40's, early 50's and I've seen some fantastic Wrexham teams.

"The best, in my opinion, was the Arfon Griffiths-John Neal era, although Ken Barnes' team ran them a close second."

Ken Aspinall, long time Wrexham supporter, said: "I've been going to the Racecourse since 1935.

"The first time I went was because there was a man from Rhos playing for Wales, Jack Hughes, the Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper and I've been going to matches ever since.

"During the war, the club included various military men and Wrexham had many star players, so much so that we made it to the cup final in one of the war years which was held at Aston Villa's ground.

"It was against a small team from the South I think, who also had a few star players playing there because of the war, I'm afraid I can't recall who won that day.

"I remember being in Belfast, watching Wales play, and the team were trying out two centre forwards, John Charles and Trevor Ford.

"That night in the pub, a man came up to us and asked where we were from, we said Wrexham and he said 'Oh the place where you come down the steps from the changing rooms?', meaning the old Turf changing rooms.

"Turns out this man was an Irish player, the only man to score six goals in an International game."