Orton's Turf Annals of York and Doncaster, which records the results of races at this time, has them taking place at "Clifton and Rawcliffe Ings" in the period 1709 and 1731 which would support the official view. However, Sheahan and Whellan, 19th century York historians, have racing taking place in both places in 1709 – "a regular race meeting on Clifton Ings" and, in the same year, a collection taking place among the citizens to purchase five plates as prizes for a meeting on the Knavesmire. Drake's Eboracum, another early history, when talking of York's races says, "Clifton-ings was for several years the place of trial; but upon a misunderstanding with the owner of that ground, or great part of it, the race was altered; and Knavesmire, a common pasture belonging to the city, was pitched upon for that purpose." Since, Drake was writing in 1736, it is deemed unlikely that he would write in such a manner if the move to Knavesmire had been so recent. There is also some slight confusion arising from the running of Royal Cups at nearby Black Hambleton. A Royal Plate was raced for "at York" from 1711, but the Black Hambleton Cup was older still. The Saunders & Co. History, using all these sources concludes "the races were held annually on both courses – at Clifton Ings previous to and for some years subsequent to the year 1709, and at Knavesmire at and from that date; and that most probably in or about the year 1731, the races were done away with at the former place and transferred to the latter." What is clear, whenever races were first run on the Knavesmire, is that York was the first centre after Newmarket to formulate a structured race programme, starting in 1751 with the Great Subscription Purses. The Knavesmire course, as the name suggests, was often very swampy, and in 1776, heavy rains meant that horses had to race for about fifty yards up to their knees in water. By the 19th century there were two main meetings at York – the Spring Meeting in May and another in August. These were supplemented by the Yorkshire Union Hunt Meeting in October, and a steeplechase meeting in April. At the August meeting in 1804 Alicia Thornton, who as a result has been called the "first female jockey", took part in a horse race at the racecourse]]