Chester Course Guide
Considered to be the oldest racing venue in England; racing around Chester’s tight ‘Roodee’ track has taken place since 1539 and some 500 years on the track itself has changed very little – the city walls and banks of the River Dee shaping two thirds of the circuit.
The sharp nature of the course means that it races exclusively on the Flat and Chester’s May Festival is now considered to be one of the highlights of the Flat racing year. Highlight of the three-day Festival is the historic Chester Cup, a two and a quarter mile handicap, but the fixture also boasts Classic trials in the shape of the Chester Vase, Dee Stakes and Cheshire Oaks, plus valuable races for older horses in the Huxley Stakes and Ormonde Stakes.
Among the top-class horses to have been successful at the course’s May Festival are Enable, Light Shift, Noble Mission, Shergar, Old Vic, Ruler Of The World, Teenoso, Harbinger, St Nicholas Abbey, Pentire, Oath and Kris Kin.
Left handed, very sharp. A circular course that's only just over a mile round, it's on the turn almost throughout and has a run-in of under two furlongs, heavily favoring those that race to the fore as it's easy to find trouble with little time to recover. A low draw at Chester is a huge advantage, even in middle-distance races, and particularly so in large fields.
At Chester, for most of any race, your horse will be leading with its near-fore, the one closer to the inside rail. And you have only two chances to change that: in the short home straight, or after the winning post in contests longer than a full circuit. You need to maximise those if you want to make ground or get a breather into one, because it’s not natural for a horse to lead on its near-fore all the way. It can pay to be brave in sprints. The straight may be short, but there’s still time to ride a finish.
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Distance Horse (Going) Date Winning time 5f 15y Kinswoman (Good to Firm) 30 Aug 2025 58.78s 6f 17y Miraculous (Good) 12 Jul 2025 1m 11.31s 7f 1y Holguin (Good) 12 Jul 2025 1m 23.65s 7f 127y Yanifer (Good) 30 Aug 2025 1m 29.98s 1m 2f 70y Passenger (Good to Firm) 10 May 2024 2m 5.24s 1m 3f 75y Amelia Earhart (Good) 06 May 2026 2m 26.31s 1m 4f 63y L'eagle Aid (Good) 12 Jul 2025 2m 33.92s 1m 5f 84y Jan Brueghel (Good) 07 May 2026 2m 48.26s 1m 6f 87y Whatsgoingonmarvin (Good) 12 Jul 2025 3m 2.9s 1m 7f 196y The Gadget Man (Good) 20 Aug 2022 3m 21.35s 2m 2f 140y Zoffee (Good to Firm) 10 May 2024 3m 59.16s -
Trainer Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L H Palmer 204 35 £511,311 17.16% £5.75 A M Balding 142 34 £572,321 23.94% £34.62 A P O'Brien 23 12 £819,202 52.17% £3.84 T D Easterby 114 11 £110,016 9.65% -£23.00 C Johnston 88 11 £87,986 12.5% -£47.63 R A Fahey 95 10 £152,801 10.53% -£16.42 R M Beckett 44 9 £168,467 20.45% -£10.19 K R Burke 63 8 £151,963 12.7% -£24.17 J Candlish 62 8 £101,246 12.9% -£5.17 R Varian 34 8 £102,508 23.53% -£9.39 -
Jockey Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L Jason Watson 91 16 £187,358 17.58% -£4.14 F Norton 102 13 £130,699 12.75% -£35.16 R L Moore 24 13 £842,134 54.17% £4.84 Oisin Murphy 52 12 £276,813 23.08% £1.12 Jason Hart 90 9 £110,618 10% -£58.31 J Fanning 45 9 £74,171 20% -£4.21 David Probert 72 8 £108,123 11.11% -£4.75 Cieren Fallon 43 8 £112,280 18.6% £16.83 Rob Hornby 47 8 £240,962 17.02% -£1.50 R Kingscote 50 6 £134,323 12% -£17.05
Latest Results
Current Going
Upcoming races
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13:35 Saturday Social Handicap
(Class 3) (6f 17y) -
14:10 Ladbrokes Get More With Racing Bet Builder Handicap
(Class 2) (7f 127y) -
14:47 Opera Grill Chester Selling Stakes
(Class 4) (7f 1y) -
15:23 Colette, Lynn And Rachel's 50th Birthday Handicap (GBBPlus Race)
(Class 3) (1m 2f 70y) -
16:00 John Smith's Handicap
(Class 3) (5f 15y) -
16:37 Roodee Handicap (GBBPlus Race)
(Class 4) (1m 7f 196y) -
17:12 Summer Saturday On 27th June Handicap (GBBPlus Race)
(Class 4) (1m 4f 63y)
Replays & Results
Address & Contact
Chester Race Company
The Racecourse
Chester
CH1 2LY
01244 304 600
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