Chester Racecourse, also known as the Roodee, is a

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

located in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The horse racing venue is officially recognised by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the "oldest racecourse still in operation". Horse racing in Chester dates back to the early sixteenth century, with 1539 cited as the year racing began, although some sources give a date of 1512 for the first races in Chester. It is also thought to be the smallest racecourse of significance in England at 1 mile and 1 furlong (1.8 km) long.

History

The racecourse lies on the banks of the River Dee. The site was once a harbour during the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

settlement of the city during the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the M ...

, sometimes referred to as the Dark Ages, but was closed as the river

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel wh ...

ed up thus making navigation impossible. Towards the centre of the in field is a raised mound which is decorated by a small cross known as a "

rood A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixio ...

". It is from this that the race course derives the name "Roodee"; Roodee is a corruption of "Rood Eye", meaning "The Island of the Cross", and is sometimes seen as "roody" in early sources. According to legend the cross marks the burial site of a statue of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

sentenced to hang after causing the death of Lady Trawst, the wife of the Governor of Hawarden. The legend states that she had gone to church to pray for rain but when her prayers were answered by a tremendous thunderstorm the statue was loosened and fell, killing her. As a holy object, hanging or burning the statue would be sacrilege so the statue was left by the banks of the river and the tide carried it down to Chester. The statue was found guilty by a jury of 12 men. If the legend is true, then this is the first recorded case of a jury being used in a court. In an alternate version of the legend, the statue was instead carried to St John's Church. An ancient statue of the Virgin was recorded at the time of the reformation but may not be the same one. The statue was thrown down as a relic of popery, used as a whipping post for scholars and burned. Less fanciful is a report from 1840 that the stone obelisk is the base of a cross that marked the boundary of the Benedictine Nunnery, the nunnery having been created in the mid 12th century, and dissolved in January 1540. The cross was known as the Rood Dee (the Dee cross), to distinguish it from the

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...

at St. Peter's Church. The site was formerly the home of the original

Chester Midsummer Watch Parade Chester's Midsummer Watch Parade is a festival celebrated in Chester, England. History A monk, Lucian, wrote of a Chester procession of clerics in the year 1195 in ''De laude Cestrie'', and city annals mention a parade in 1397/8, but it was not ...

, temporarily banned by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

but finally abolished in 1677. The east of the race course abuts directly onto Chester's ancient

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

which were once used to moor

trading vessels, before the course of the river changed. Spectators can watch races for free from the walls which offer a clear view of the whole circuit. The

Grosvenor Bridge Grosvenor Bridge, originally known as, and alternatively called Victoria Railway Bridge, is a railway bridge over the River Thames in London, between Vauxhall Bridge and Chelsea Bridge. Originally constructed in 1860, and widened in 1865 and ...

, at one time the longest single arch bridge in the world, passes over the south-eastern corner. The north of the course is bordered by a long railway bridge carrying the

North Wales Coast Line The North Wales Coast Line ( cy, Llinell Arfordir Gogledd Cymru), also known as the North Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell Gogledd Cymru or cy, label=none, Prif Linell y Gogledd), is a major railway line in the north of Wales and Cheshire ...

(shared with the

Shrewsbury–Chester line The Shrewsbury–Chester line ( cy, Llinell Amwythig i Gaer) is a railway line between Chester and Shrewsbury in England, with the line passing through Wrexham County Borough in Wales. Passenger train services are operated by Transport for Wale ...

) over the River Dee. The course is overlooked from the opposite bank of the river by the

mansions A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property la ...

Curzon Park Curzon Park is an upmarket residential suburb of Chester, Cheshire in England. The area, which adjoins the southern banks of the Dee, was first laid out in the 19th century. It is situated next to the Grosvenor Bridge and is well known for hav ...

, which can be seen dominating the skyline from any of the three grandstands. The

Welsh border Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

is roughly a mile west of the racecourse.

Horse Racing

The Chester Racecourse site was home to the famous and bloody Goteddsday football match. The game was very violent and, in 1533, banned by the city, to be replaced in 1539 by horse racing. The first recorded race was held on 9 February 1539 (although other sources list this as 10 January 1511 and some as 1512) with the consent of the Mayor Henry Gee, whose name led to the use of the term "gee-gee" for horses. Races originally took place on Goteddsday (

Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession and absolution, the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms, finalizing one's Lent ...

) until 1609, and thereafter on

St George's Day Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Cáceres, Alcoy, Aragon and Catalonia. Sai ...

, both major festivals during the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

period. Victors were awarded the "Chester Bells", a set of three decorative

bells Bells may refer to: * Bell, a musical instrument Places * Bells, North Carolina * Bells, Tennessee * Bells, Texas * Bells Beach, Victoria, an internationally famous surf beach in Australia * Bells Corners, Ontario Music * Bells, directly stru ...

for decorating the horse's

bridle A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the "bridle" includes both the that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit. Headgear ...

, for winning a race five times round the "roody" and from 1744 the "

Grosvenor Grosvenor may refer to: People * Grosvenor (surname) * Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster * Grosvenor Francis (1873–1944), Australian politician * Grosvenor Hodgkinson (1818–1881), English lawyer and politician Places, buildings and ...

Gold Cup", a small

tumbler Tumbler may refer to: * Tumbler (glass), a type of glassware * Tumbler (pigeon), a pigeon breed * Tumbler (Project Xanadu), a unique identifier of a unit of text or an embedded link * Tumbler (surname), an extinct surname of British origin ...

made from solid gold (later silver). In 1745, the meeting became a four-day one, with one race on each day. In 1766 a May Festival was introduced, and in 1824, the Tradesmen's Cup Race (the predecessor to the

Chester Cup The Chester Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2 miles, 2 furlongs and 147 yards () at Chester i ...

) was also introduced. The racecourse was at that point still just an open field, with the first

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap al ...

finished in 1817 and the first admittance fee not being taken until 1897. The stand was rebuilt in 1899–1900, and was replaced after being destroyed by

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

in 1985.

Today

The racecourse's position in the city makes race meetings at Chester very popular as it is only a very short stroll to all the hotels, bars, shopping and restaurants. The racecourse itself is just over long, flat and raced anti-clockwise or left-handed. The main characteristic of the course is the very short straight (). As such, long-strided horses, which perform better on straights, are at a distinct disadvantage. On 19 August 2006, Irish vocal pop band

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporari ...

held a concert for their

Face to Face Tour This is the 5th world tour of the Irish pop band Westlife seen by 395,000 fans. This tour set a goal that they will play in smaller venues and for smaller audiences to justify the title "Face to Face". The filmed video album for this tour came f ...

supporting their album Face to Face. In 2008, a restaurant opened at the racecourse, named "1539", after the first year that horse racing took place in Chester.1539 Restaurant
/ref> In May 2012, all former Tote betting positions were replaced by the racecourse's own in-house chesterBET betting system. In 2013 a new pub and restaurant called The White Horse was opened in the centre of the Course. The main race meetings at Chester were often broadcast on

Channel 4 Racing ''Channel 4 Racing'' was the name given to the horse racing coverage on the British television stations Channel 4 and More4. History The first transmission of racing on the channel was on 22 March 1984 from Doncaster, as it took over midweek ...

until 2016 and have been broadcast on

ITV Racing ''ITV Racing'' is a programme produced by ITV Sport for races shown on ITV or ITV4 in the United Kingdom. The programme is referred to as ''Racing on STV'' in Northern and Central Scotland on STV. In its previous incarnation, the show was an ...

since 2017. The Clerk of the Course is Andrew Morris, who is also Clerk of the Course for sister course

Bangor-on-Dee Bangor-on-Dee ( cy, Bangor-is-y-coed or Bangor Is-coed) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, on the banks of the River Dee. Until 1974 it was in the exclave of Flintshire known as the Maelor Saesneg, and from 1974 t ...

, which is a

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

jumps course.

Notable races

;Other races * Earl Grosvenor Stakes *

City Plate The City Plate is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Chester over a distance of 7 furlongs and 1 yard (1,409 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ea ...

Queensferry Stakes The Queensferry Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Chester over a distance of 6 furlongs and 17 yards (1,223 metres), and it is scheduled t ...

* Henry Gee Stakes *

Stand Cup The Stand Cup is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Chester over a distance of 1 mile 4 furlongs and 63 yards (2,472 metres), and it is scheduled to take place eac ...

* Lily Agnes Conditions Stakes

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Official websiteAt The Races course guideChester Racecourse Pictures
{{Horse racing in Great Britain Horse racing venues in England Sports venues in Cheshire Sport in Chester Buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson Sports venues completed in the 16th century