Mrs Macquarie’s Ladies Cup. First Sydney races, Hyde Park, 1810
On Monday 15 October 1810, crowds gathered on the Sydney Racecourse on new public land which the Governor named Hyde Park. The race program lasted three days and D’Arcy Wentworth’s horse, Gig, ridden by his son, William Charles Wentworth, won the three mile race on the first day, marking the beginning of the Wentworth’s’ strong involvement in the Sydney racing scene. On the second day of racing, Mrs. Macquarie presented the Ladies’ Cup, valued at 50 guineas, to Captain Ritchie for the win by his grey gelding, Chance – the fastest horse over two miles.