The Alnwick & District Local History Society identify High Hobberlaw as the site of Alnwick's first racecourse, officially in 1654. It was a 1 mile straight at High Hobberlaw - a name preserved in the Ordnance Survey maps for a small farmstead "with outhouses and a vegetable garden attached". Horse racing later moved to Hobberlaw Edge according to the same source, though it is not known when.

The straight is not shown on contemporary plans from the 18th or 19th centuries, so therefore it is difficult to identify the exact location for the site. However, High Hobberlaw is a very specific area near Rugley Road so the accuracy of the coordinates above will be within 200m or so. A racecourse cottage does still exist just off Battlements, which likely indicates the location of the later course slightly east at Hobberlaw Edge. The only other real clue we could go by is the extremely straight lane west to a former colliery site, however I imagine this to be a lane between fields.

The last race to occur at the town was July 4th 1793. The rise of Methodism and social & moral improvements saw pastimes like bull baiting, cockfighting and even the perceived "genteel" horse racing to be wiped from the calendar.