The Roodee was once underwater, and the banks of the River Dee reached the City walls. This was the Roman harbour until the river silted up, making navigation impossible.
Image courtesy of Mark Bevan
Back when Henry VIII was King, the Mayor of Chester at the time, Henry Gee issued a National Assembly Order to decree that horse racing would replace the former Gotesdday (Shrove Tuesday) football match (banned in 1533).
The name ‘Roodee’ is derived of ‘Roodeye’, meaning the Island of the Cross. If you head out to the Open Course or look from the City walls, you’ll notice a large sandstone statue within the centre of the course. Formerly a timber cross which had collapsed and caused the death of the wife of the Governor of Hawarden. When the cross was discarded into the river, it floated upstream to the racecourse, was erected and eventually replaced in sandstone.
The first recorded race took place on the Roodee in February 1539. The race was run on Shrove Tuesday and a silver bell was given by the Saddlers’ Company and devised by Mayor Henry Gee as an element in his reformed civic celebrations.
The popular slang term for horses or horse racing, ‘gee-gee’s’ can be traced back th to Chester thanks to the 16 century Mayor of Chester, Henry Gee. As the oldest course in the UK still in use, Chester can also claim to being one of the oldest, if not the oldest in the world.
Chester Racecourse is approximately 200 years older than Epsom Racecourse. When the Derby race was inaugurated, it was proposed that the famous race take place in May. The Horse Racing Authority at the time insisted the race take place in June to avoid a clash with Chester. Some of Chester’s May races are now synonymous with the Derby as Trials races and many May Chester victors have gone on to take the Derby title.
The Tradesman’s Cup is presented to the winner of the Huxley Stakes each year at the May Festival. Historically, the Chester Cup was known as the Tradesmen’s Plate and this Cup was presented to the winner, until the race was renamed the Chester Trades’ Cup in 1874. From this point on it was often referred to as the Chester Cup and that became its usual title in 1884.
In 1883 the 1 Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, bred Ormonde at Eaton Hall, just up the road. Ormonde went on to win the Triple Crown in 1886. st
Image courtesy of www.michaelchurchracingbooks.com
Buffalo Bill and his famous travelling show appeared on the Roodee in 1903.
In 1946, Chester Racecourse hosted a record 103,993 racegoers on Cup Day. A record number, yet to be beaten. This was the year racing was reinstated following a hiatus during the war. In nearly 500 years of racing there have been only three major stoppages to the racing calendar: the English Civil War, World War 1 and World War 2.
Image courtesy of Mark Bevan
Shergar won the Chester Vase in 1981, the same year he won the Epsom Derby by an emphatic 10 lengths, before being stolen by masked gunmen in 1983. He was never seen again.
Image courtesy of Mark Bevan
The original County Stand built on the th Roodee in the 19 century was burnt down in a fire during the early hours of 28 September 1985. The new grandstand that you see today was then officially opened in May 1988. Between this time racing went ahead as planned and racecourse staff worked frantically to set up temporary accommodation for the thousands of displaced racegoers.
Overturn won the Chester Cup in 2012 and when the Olympic torch came to the racecourse in the same year, jockey Jason Maguire rode the winning racehorse with the torch down Watergate Street for its final leg.
Image courtesy of Ian Cooper
Chester Racecourse is consistently in the top five for annual attendances at racecourses across the country, averaging around 25,000 racegoers each meeting. You’re in good company!
The Roodee has hosted many members of the Royal Family over the years and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is a keen horse racing enthusiast, having had runners at Chester including the winner of the 2016 Boodles Diamond Ormonde Stakes; Dartmouth.
The 100 running of the Chester Vase was celebrated in 2018, with Young Rascal claiming the title. th