Birth of a Valley Project

Equestrianism and Pedestrianism at Glais Race Course

Not much seems to be known about Glais Racecourse which once occupied flat land now taken up by the A4067 by-pass and the Mond golf club. When was it established, and when did it finally shut up shop?

Here is what we have been able to discover since Mrs Powell of Gwyn Street, Alltwen recently donated three official race cards (6d) from the early 1920s. Racing seemed to be a regular fortnightly event in the summer months. In 1920, there were at least ten race meetings. Admission to the ‘Enclosure’ was 2/4d, with a concession for ladies and children who paid only 1/3d. Motorcars and carriages cost 3/6d. The race cards were printed by Will Hopkin of Pontardawe, the grandfather of Mary Hopkin.

A number of questions come to mind when one considers these intriguing documents. Each one advertises ‘Galloway, Trotting and Foot Events’. Judges are listed, (including Capt. D. Ivor Evans of Graig-Y-Pal) so too a Clerk of the Course, a Handicapper, Starter and Veterinary Surgeon along with other officials. One card makes it clear that Glais Races took place under Welsh Racing Rules and gambling was certainly a part of the day’s events as bookmakers and public were informed that a red flag signalled disqualification. Prize money totalled £220 on each occasion and an advertised bank holiday meeting in 1920 boasted £400 in prizes.

Your Help is Needed

Here is a photograph of some of the Racecourse Officials – can you help identify anyone in the picture?

Trotting is easy enough to understand and this form of horse racing has survived locally but what to make of the other two?

Galloway horses from the west of Scotland were the original British racehorse, renowned for their speed and strength and later bred with Arabians to produce the thoroughbreds we associate with racing today. Glais Races advertised ‘a six furlongs Galloway dash’ and a ‘one mile Galloway’. Galloway Races it seems were races in which weight was allocated according to the size of the horse; e.g. 13h carried 7st., 14h carried 9st., 15h carried 11st.

The ‘Foot Events’ at Glais were all over 100 yards and were for professional and semi-professional athletes competing in so-called “Powderhall Sprints” for prize money.

Here are the results for Saturday 28 August 1920 as reported in a local newspaper, The Labour Voice: -

One Hundred Yards Sprint (£15) O. Alexander (Pontardawe)
Six Furlongs Trotting (£30) Mr Thomas (Clydach) with Doris.
Six Furlongs Galloway (£30) Mr Jones (Cwmtwrch) with Tussle.
One Mile Trotting (£50) Mr Howells (Glais) with Tom.
One Mile Galloway (£50) Mr Lewis (Aberdare) with Little Eva.

Mr Howells (Glais), owner of Tom, also owned Dick who finished in third place (£3) in the race won by Tom. William Howells (1882-1963) was farm bailiff at Llwyn-du farm, Glais.

Foot Racing in South Wales

As early as the 18^th Century British noblemen would lay bets on their ‘footmen’, servants hired to deliver messages and to run in front of m’lord’s carriage to announce his arrival at a country house or inn. How did these fellows outstrip a horse and four? Just imagine the state of the roads at the time and you have your answer.

With the onset of the Industrial Revolution working men found they could increase their take-home pay if they had some skill, stamina and determination by taking part in what was initially called ‘Pedestrianism’. Great feats of long-distance running and walking were performed all over the British Isles and later in the U.S.A. and countries of the Empire. The financial rewards were attractive and huge crowds gathered to watch these events. Betting, even in the early days, meant that prize-money could be increased by fair means or foul and there were plenty of punters and athletes who set out to beat the bookmakers.

By the end of the 19^th Century the extreme feats of pedestrianism, which often took days or even weeks to complete, gave way to what we know as foot-racing. Spectators could gather at the weekend and wager on their favourites, knowing that there would be a result that day. Then, as now, the premier races were always the 100 yards sprint and the mile. Athletes also competed in the 220 yards, 880yards, 5 miles and dashes of 60-80 yards but the largest prize money and the medals always went to the fastest over the traditional distances.

In Wales the Number One event from 1903-1934 was the Welsh Powderhall sprint, a handicap race over 120 yards held at Taff Vale Park, Pontypridd.

In most of the British Isles foot-racing lasted until the 1940s/50s. (Scotland still has ‘The Powderhall Sprint’ held on New Year’s Day or thereabouts where professional sprinters can still win cash prizes.)

In South Wales, as in most industrial districts of Great Britain, foot-racing was often part of a weekend of equestrian events - Trotting, Galloway races etc as at Glais Racecourse in the Swansea Valley. Here, in 1920, a working man or an unemployed man could go home with £15 (almost a month’s wages) if he won the sprint prize.

Runners in the Swansea Valley

Ivor John of Port Talbot (104 in 2008) was a regular and successful competitor in foot-racing events in the 1920s-30s. His mother bought him his first pair of spikes (pictured) for £8. Like many another runner he was a rugby union player. Trained and managed by his cousin, he was a dedicated athlete, but in his own words he was not above attempting to ‘beat the bookies’ in a variety of scams which meant he sometimes went home with more money for losing a race than actually winning.

Ebenezer ("Eben") Evans, won a gold medal in a footrace in Ystalyfera in 1895. He was born in 1876; his father William Evans was a smallholder in the Llandeilo area. Eben moved to the Tawe valley and worked in the tinplate works as a rollerman. He was 19 years old when he won the race. He married Mary Anne Hughes from Godre'r Graig in 1898 and they lived in Alltygrug Road in Ystalyfera. Eben died on the 27th of May 1944. He was a deacon of Seion chapel.

According to his granddaughter, Delyth Stallard from Golden Grove, Eben's opponent was from Swansea and a semi-professional runner. He ran in his work boots, while his opponent was kitted out!