Ely Racecourse was in direct line of descent from the old racecourse at Heath Farm, which on the Cardiff map of 1840 appears to be almost as big as the two parishes that at the time made up Cardiff. Ely Racecourse owed its beginnings to the sporting land owners and hunting folk of Glamorgan, such as the Williamses, Homfrays, Lindsays and Copes who were to form the Cardiff Race Club. Cardiff (English:  Welsh: ) is the capital, largest and core city of Wales. ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Glamorgan or Glamorganshire (Welsh: ) is one of thirteen historic counties and former administrative counties of Wales. ...

When the Welsh Grand National was held at Ely in 1895, the crowd was so big that they broke down the entrance to the shilling gate, and the police had a hard time in preventing the gatecrashers from obtaining free admission. The following year some 40,000 race-goers turned up to see the 1892 Grand National winner Father O'Flynn take on the legendary 1893 Grand National winner Cloister. The Welsh National is a Grade 3 National Hunt horse race in the United Kingdom for five-year-old and above horses run over a distance of 3 miles 5½ furlongs (5,934 metres) at Chepstow Racecourse, Wales in late December. ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Before decimalisation in 1971, a shilling had a value of 12d (old pence), and was equal to 1/20th of a pound: there were 240 (old) pence to the pound. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Grand National is the most valuable National Hunt handicap horse race in the United Kingdom. ... Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Grand National is the most valuable National Hunt handicap horse race in the United Kingdom. ... In 1893, the year in which Cloister won the Grand National, this fine, handsome, big stamp of a chaser made the contest look like a one horse race. ...

Many famous jockeys graced the Ely Turf. The famed Anthony and Rees brothers, Evan Williams, Dudley Williams, Bruce Hobbs, Fred Rimell, Fulke Walwyn to name just a few. As for the equine heroes, Golden Miller, Kirkland and Brown Jack were just three of them. There was a great ovation for local amateur rider David Thomas when he won the Welsh Grand National on his own mare Miss Balscadden in 1928. Bruce Robertson Hobbs (born December 27, 1920, Long Island, New York - died November 22, 2005) was an American jockey and horse trainer. ... The race horse Golden Miller is the only horse to have won both of the United Kingdoms premier steeplechase races, the Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup, in the same year (1934). ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ...

Sadly, Ely Racecourse closed on 27 April 1939 - the last race being won by Lester Piggott's father Keith Piggott on Dunbarney. No longer would crowds flock there to witness the riding skills of some of the greatest National Hunt jockeys. In 1953 the old racecourse was officially opened as Cardiff's biggest recreation centre, and houses were built on part of the racecourse not used for sporting facilities.^[1] April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... National Hunt racing is the name given to the sport of horse racing in the United Kingdom and Ireland where the horses are required to jump over obstacles called hurdles or fences (except in the case of a bumper). The core of the National Hunt season is over the winter... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

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