On April 17, 2019, Chester Racecourse, on the banks of the River Dee in Cheshire, North West England, officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the ‘Oldest Racecourse Still In Operation’. Chester was established as a racecourse in 1539, when the Mayor of Chester, Henry Gee, decreed that a horse racing meeting should be held annually on Shrove Tuesday, as a replacement for the infamous Goteddsday football match, which had been banned some years earlier.
It would be fair to say that, even in the better part of half a millenium, Chester Racecourse has changed very little. Its nickname, the ‘Roodee’, is derived from the remnants of an ancient stone obelisk, which can still be seen in the middle of the course, but once stood on a small island in the River Dee. ‘Rood’ is the Old English word for ‘crucifix’, so ‘Rood Eye’ (hence ‘Roodee’) means ‘Island of the Cross’.
In addition to being the oldest racecourse in Britain, Chester is also the smallest. A flat, left-handed circular course, approximately nine furlongs in circumference, Chester is on the turn almost throughout and has a very short home straight, less than two furlongs long. Thus, horses that race prominently are heavily favoured, but the outlook for long-striding types is less promising.
Seasonal highlights include the Chester Cup, a ‘Heritage Handicap’ run over an extended two and a quater miles, and the Chester Vase, a Group 3 contest run over a mile and a half; the latter is a recognised trial for the Derby at Epsom. Both races are staged during the three-day May Festival.