The stand was rebuilt in 1899–1900, and was replaced after being destroyed by arson in 1985. Today The racecourse's position in the city makes race meetings at Chester very popular as it is only a very short stroll to all the hotels, bars, shopping and restaurants. The racecourse itself is just over long, flat and raced anti-clockwise or left-handed. The main characteristic of the course is the very short straight (). As such, long-strided horses, which perform better on straights, are at a distinct disadvantage. On 19 August 2006, Irish vocal pop band Westlife held a concert for their Face to Face Tour supporting their album Face to Face. In 2008, a restaurant opened at the racecourse, named "1539", after the first year that horse racing took place in Chester. In May 2012, all former Tote betting positions were replaced by the racecourse's own in-house chesterBET betting system. In 2013 a new pub and restaurant called The White Horse was opened in the centre of the Course. The main race meetings at Chester were often broadcast on Channel 4 Racing until 2016 and have been broadcast on ITV Racing since 2017. The Clerk of the Course is Andrew Morris, who is also Clerk of the Course for sister course Bangor-on-Dee, which is a National Hunt jumps course. Notable races Other races Earl Grosvenor Stakes City Plate Queensferry Stakes Henry Gee Stakes Stand Cup References Bibliography External links Official website At The Races course guide History of the Roodee Chester Racecourse Pictures Horse racing venues in England Sports venues in Cheshire Sport in Chester Buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson Sports venues completed in the 16th century