Win tickets to Chester Races
2:31pm Wednesday 11th July 2012 in Win!
Win tickets to Chester Races
At Chester Racecourse this year, thousands will enjoy the fashion and race drama on the oldest course in Britain, and you could be there too!
Newsquest Northwest has teamed up with Chester Races to promote their great competition to our readers. Enter now for your chance to win four tickets for the Ladies & Gents Evening on Friday, July 13. The prize includes food, drink and an initial bet to get you started.
Chester Racecourse, like the city, is steeped in history. In Roman times, the racecourse lay underneath water as a tidal pool of the River Dee.
Chester was a major maritime port in the medieval period, and in the 13th century, Water Gate served as the main harbor. However, increased silting combined with a falling sea level, led to the creation of the racecourse on land, known as the Roodee - the name derived from ‘rood’ (the Saxon word for cross) and ‘eye’ (the Saxon word for island). ‘Roodee’ therefore means ‘island of the cross’.
The racecourse has been the venue for many exciting events – in 1441, rival gaolers from the Castle and Northgate gathered here for a mass fist fight and horse racing was introduced to replace the Goteddsday (Shrove Tuesday) football match, which was banned in 1533 for being too violent.
The first recorded race at the ‘Roodee Fields’ was held on February 9, 1539, in the reign of Henry VIII, with the consent of Chester’s Lord Mayor, Henry Gee (whose surname gave rise to the ‘gee gees’ nickname for racehorses).
Aside from the horse racing, the course has hosted a wide variety of other public events – the Royal Agricultural Show of 1858, the 1903 Buffalo Bill and Geronimo Wild West Show, circuses, military reviews, Lord Mayor’s Parades, festivals of Transport, antique sales, firework displays and Roman festivals.
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HOW TO WIN!
To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the following question and email (click here) your answer, together with your name, address and daytime contact telephone number (please mark CHESTER RACES in your subject line). Closing date is 12 noon on Thursday, July 12, 2012. Usual Newsquest Northwest rules apply. See competition rules section for details. No purchase necessary. Please note, the winner must be able to collect the tickets IN PERSON at the Wirral Globe office, Birkenhead, before 4pm on Friday, July 13.
Question: What does ‘Roodee’ mean?
Terms and Conditions:
Newsquest Northwest rules apply. The editor's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Employees of Newsquest Northwest, their families and anyone connected with this competition are not eligible to enter. Usual Newsquest Northwest rules apply. Winners will be notified by email wherever possible and Newsquest Northwest takes no responsibility for unread emails which leads to prizes being untaken. In the unlikely event that a prize event is cancelled, no further prize will be given and there will be no cash alternative. Chester Races may want to contact you with details of similar events. If you would prefer NOT to hear from them, please state NO DATA in your entry.
PLEASE NOTE; the winner (or a representative on the winner's behalf) should be able to collect the tickets from the Wirral Globe office in Birkenhead BEFORE 4pm on Friday, July 13, 2012.
