When we first drove into Chester, we passed a nice-looking race track. It caught my attention, but I had no idea if I'd get near it when I had the chance to visit.
Once the formal part of the tour visit was completed, we were sent out to explore on our own ... and I thought of the track. After a computer search, I discovered that this was the oldest race track in the world. I talked another friend in our group to go for a walk of about six blocks to the business entrance to the track. We walked in and ran into a worker, and told her we were visiting tourists and wanted to look around a little.
Well, she couldn't have been nicer. She led us to the inside of the grandstand, told us a bit about the place, and answered some questions. She and the rest of the crew were preparing for opening day in two weeks, so she had a little time for good will.
The Chester Racecourse opened for business in 1539. Think about that. I should add that some sources say it actually opened in 1512. That's more than 500 years of improving the breed. It's a small track at a little over a mile, but still looks good. They have done some upgrading over the years and had to replace the grandstand because of a fire in 1985, but the new one is just fine as you can see. It doesn't look like there's a great deal of racing here, as the season looks short. But they are still at it, and that means a lot.
And they're off ...
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