After the Second World War the racecourse was used for parachute training by the Welsh Parachute Regiment. A barrage balloon was sent up with an underhanging basket out of which the troops would leap. Local resident John Bramhall remembers as a boy running down to the racecourse to watch the action. A painting by Jack Sullivan (1984) now held in the Butetown History and Arts Centre Collection records the exploits of the brave parachutists!