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Chester Races

News

https://www.chester-races.com/whats-on/boodles-may-festival-ladbrokes-chester-cup-day/

The Ladbrokes Chester Cup Day
Chester Racecourse
Friday 8th May 2026



The Ladbrokes Chester Cup is the longest race run at the Roodee racecourse Chester, with the biggest field each year. It's the highlight of the season.
Chester Racecourse has announced a record-breaking 86 entries for the 2026 Ladbrokes Chester Cup, surpassing the previous high of 56 entries.
Part of the 2026 Chester May Festival.

https://www.chester-races.com/whats-on/boodles-may-festival-ladies-day/

Chester Races
The Boodles May Festival
Ladies Day
Thursday 7th May 2026
Chester Racecourse



The 2026 Chester May Festival Ladies Day is on Thursday, May 7th, at Chester Racecourse.
As the second day of the three-day Boodles May Festival (May 6–8), it features high-class, competitive racing combined with high-fashion.
Including a Best Dressed Competition, making it a premier social event.
Become a fashionista on Ladies Day.

Day two of the Boodles May Festival is Ladies Day, a chance to cheer your favourites past the finishing line and look absolutely fabulous while doing it.

Join us for our Boodles May Festival.

https://www.chester-races.com/whats-on/boodles-may-festival-trials-day/

Chester Races
The Boodles May Festival



Trials Day
Wednesday 6th May 2026
The gates open at 11:30am
The first race is scheduled for 1:30pm
Box Office on 01244 304610

Join us on Wednesday 6th May for the return of the prestigious Boodles May Festival Trials Day, a fixture that sees top owners and trainers competing.
Witness new racing champions on Trials Day as this fixture sees the running of The Weatherbys Cheshire Oaks, a trial for the Epsom Oaks for fillies.
A crowd of over six and a half thousand made their way to Chester Racecourse for last year's Boodles May Festival Trials Day.

Boodles May Festival the countdown is on for three action-packed days on the Roodee Chester City Centre.

Whats on:
Opening Parade – The festival gets underway in style
Jockey Masterclass – Insight and expertise straight from the saddle
Jockey Signings – Meet the stars

Racing Discovery Zone – Head to the pavilion lawn and step into the action with VR headsets and immersive racing experiences.
Best Dressed Competition (Thursday Only) – Show off your raceday look and enter between 11:30am-2:00pm for the chance to win some fabulous prizes.
Ladbrokes Ladisfaction Zone – Open throughout the festival near the parade ring, featuring a 360 video booth to capture your raceday moment and more.

Join us for our Boodles May Festival. Here’s everything you need to know to plan the perfect raceday:

- Gates Open
The gates open at 11:30am. We recommend arriving at least one hour before the first race to soak up the atmosphere.
- Cash or Card
All food and drink outlets are cashless.
Cash can still be used when placing bets with on-course bookmakers.
- Parking
Car parking is available on the Open Course for £12 (card payment only).
Located in the centre of the racecourse, spaces are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Dress Code
Planning your outfit ? Check out our full Dress Code and Style Inspiration.
- Accessibility
If you require accessibility assistance, visit our dedicated page or contact the Box Office on 01244 304610.
- One Cup
All drinks are served in reusable cups. Your first drink includes a £1 cup hire charge, which covers washing and reuse.
Return your cup when you buy another drink and swap it for a clean one, please don’t take it home.
Together, we’re helping Chester Racecourse become climate positive by 2039.
- Raceday Ready
Download Raceday Ready to access a free digital racecard, with live prices, tips, non-runners, results and dividends throughout the day.
Once You’re In
Use the course map to explore buzzing bars, the Parade Ring and more.
Make sure to visit the Main Parade Ring before racing starts for top tips and insights from our raceday MC and tipster.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgkyqzdq1xo
Where to enjoy Bonfire night 2025 across North West

Next Up

https://www.chester-races.com/whats-on/the-lord-mayors-fireworks-extravaganza/

The Lord Mayor's Fireworks Extravaganza
Saturday 8th November 2025

The Roodee Chester Racecourse
Grand Stand
Chester Racecourse
Chester City Centre
New Crane Street
Chester
CH1 4JD
Junior display at 6:45pm
Main Display 7:30pm

Under 5s go FREE. Gates open at 5pm.

A firm seasonal favourite event in the Chester event year.
Chester Race Course on November 8th for a fireworks extravaganza.
view The Lord Mayor's Firework Extravaganza from the stands ticketed entry.

Chester Racecourse The Roodee

Food and Drink Festival

www.chesterfoodanddrink.co.uk
Taste Cheshire Food & Drink Festival
TBA 2026

Chester Racecourse Chester CH1 2LY Cheshire U.K.

info@chesterfoodanddrink.co.uk

01244 956 414

https://www.facebook.com/TasteCheshireFoodAndDrinkFestival

Performance Event Venue & Festival

Taste Cheshire Food & Drink Festival is the biggest event of its type to take place anywhere in the UK this Bank Holiday. Over 150 exhibitors.
Chester Food and Drink Festival is an annual event at Chester racecourse, set over 3 days it showcases food from around the country.
This fantastic family friendly event is held over three days in Chester City Centre Racecourse outside venue.
Tickets are normally available at the door for cash or card payment. Please check before you go.

Winter Wonderland at Chester Racecourse

Event TBA
Winter Wonderland
Chester Racecourse Roodee Track Centre

Next Years Fixtures

2026 TBA

www.chester-races.com

Chester Racecourse Events
Please click for more information

Chester Racecourse Fixtures
Please click for more information

Chester Races May Festival

Check out Inside Track
Chester Races new e-magazine
http://www.chester-races.com

The oldest Racecourse in Britain

65 acres
Chester Race Company Limited, The Racecourse, Chester CH1 2LY
enquiries@chester-races.com
01244 304 600

www.chester-races.com

Going Conditions on track

Events

Race Day Information

Online map of the location from www.multimap.com >>>

The Name 'Roodee'

The name 'roodee' came from the fact that there was a cross or in Anglo-Saxon a 'rood' in the middle of the racecourse. This was taken down in the middle ages. The base of the cross was removed but then reinstated. It can be seen today as a sandstone square base and part of the shaft. The second part of the name refers to the 'eye' or island. Because a long time ago the land was recovered from mud banks on the edge of the river Dee.

Location

The Roodee is located at the end of Watergate Street to the South-West on the City Walls.

History

'On St Georges Day 1539 In the time of Henry Gee, Mayor of the King's city of Chester, in the XXXI year of King Henry Eighth, a bell of silver, to the value of 111s 1111d, is ordained to be the reward of that horse which shall run before all others" - The Roodee 450 years of racing in Chester by R.M. Bevan.

Organised racing on the Roodee at Chester began in 1540. The races were held on shove Tuesday until 1609, when the date was changed to St George's Day (23 April). The prize was a bell of silver made by the Chester Goldsmiths Company. At first the winner had to return the prize after a year. But in the early 17th Century the winner was allowed to keep it.

In 1623 the silver bell was replaced by a silver cup worth £8. The corporation and the guilds supported the races in the 17th and 18th Centuries.

From 1744 the head of the Grosvenor family annually gave a gold tumbler cup worth £50 as a prize at the May races. These cups became smaller as the price of gold rose. From 1801 - 1830 when the Grosvenor family stopped giving prizes, silver and gold trophies took their place.

The below cup is on display in the Ridgway Silver Gallery in the Grosvenor Museum.

Quick Facts

"The Roodee was deemed part of Holy Trinity Parish, but it could not be tithed because it was land recovered from the sea.".

"Roman burials have been discovered so have two silver Roman denarii"

"A Roman tomb was discovered in 1874 thought to date from 90AD. It contained two skeletons one with a gold ring."

"In 1533 football was banned and from 1539 the Shoemakers provided six silver arrowheads as an award for a foot-race".

"In 1441 the rival gaolers from the Castle and the Northgate settled their differences with a fist fight on the Roodee".

"At the foot of the city wall by Nun's Road close to the Roodee, is some substantial masonry thought to have been part of the Roman quay wall. It is now thought to be footings for a Roman landing stage which reached across the river so that ships could dock at low tide.

The Roman Quay

In Roman times the river lapped against the City Walls. This is where the remains of a Roman Quay wall can still be seen. In 1886 a pig of Roman lead weighing 87 KG or 192 lbs was found deep below the surface of the Roodee. It is on display in the Grosvenor museum.

A reconstruction from the Grosvenor Museum of how the Quay would have looked in Roman times.

After Race Party

TBA

Decorative Fairs

www.decorativefairs.com
The very best fairs for vintage fashion, antique textiles and accessories.
Held inside the grandstand.

Antiques Fair

Chester Races Hotels

Express By Holiday Inn
Chester Racecourse

Click here for more information

Directions

Road
The M53, M56, M6 ,A483 are all in close proximity to Chester providing excellent links from Liverpool, Manchester, North Wales and the south of England. The Racecourse is signposted from all the major routes into Chester.

Rail
Chester Station is 20-30 minutes walk from the Racecourse through the picturesque Chester City Centre, or a just a short taxi ride.

Air
Call 01244 522 012 Hawarden Airport, Deeside for Helicopter / Light Aircraft landing facilities. Helicopters are allowed to land on the racecourse by prior consent with the Racecourse.

Polo

THE COUTTS INTERNATIONAL
Chester Racecourse Polo Club is now firmly established on the British polo circuit and socially as one of the premier events in the Northwest. The Coutts International Polo Weekend, now in its fifth year, has become the polo club's flagship tournament, with teams competing to win £10,000 in prize money.
Unusually for such a high-profile sport, prize money is rare, so the prize pot certainly attracts some of the best players in the world, with two past and present Captains of the England team and many international players doing battle on the field.
We welcome you to come and experience the glitz and glamour of polo on the picturesque Roodee. Enjoying either the hospitality in the exclusive Sponsors' and Players' Enclosure, or just come along and bring a picnic - both make for a memorable day.
General admission: £5, with children under 16 Free
Gates open at 12 pm
For further information, please contact
Melanie Simm
01244 304 615
msimm@chester-races.com
http://www.chester-races.com/polo

Click here for more information

Show Jumping

The Charles Stanley British Masters International
Chester Race Course
http://www.chester-races.com/show-jumping

Click here for more information

Badges for the stands

History Display

Conference and Events

www.conferenceandeventschester.co.uk

Art Deco Fairs

Enquiries 07809 236 607
www.decorativefairs.co.uk

www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100000827825677&ref=ts

Chester Goes Pro #5 The Roodee Racecourse and Nuns Road / Wasp Attack

Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse

Click here for more information

Public Transport

Chester Racecourse is five minute black cab taxi ride away from Chester Railway Station. The cost is about £5.
Chester Racecourse is about a five minute walk from Chester City Centre at the Cross via Watergate Street.

Internal Links

Penman Art & Antique Fairs

External Links

www.visitchester.com Horse Racing Page

www.penman-fairs.co.uk

This is the official YouTube channel for Chester Racecourse
http://www.youtube.com/user/chesterracecourse

www.chester-races.com

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