A day in the life: Chester Race Company head of racing Andrew Morris

My life on a race day starts early - at 5am. The first job is a cup of coffee whilst checking the weather and catching up on any emails from the night before.

I’ll have walked the racecourse by 6am to check if the going has changed from what we have given the day before. Owners and trainers make plans of where to run their horse based upon my going report and so it is crucial that this is accurate. It takes a huge amount of time and effort to build confidence with owners and trainers so they can trust the information you are giving them. The production of the track is the most controversial area of my role and I am reliant upon the weather forecast when making decisions, eg about whether to irrigate the track or not.

The production of a race day is a massive team effort and the majority of my team arrive by 7am. I believe that as much preparation as possible should have been done in advance and the focus of the team on the day is to ensure the finishing touches meet the continuing high standards we demand of ourselves as a company.

I then visit the stable yard. A high percentage of our runners will have arrived the night before and I always enjoy the banter from the stable staff who’ve travelled with the horses.

My mobile is a constant companion on a race day with calls from people asking for tickets to requests for interviews. The only meal I’ll manage is breakfast -bacon and egg, not porridge and fresh fruit! For the rest of the day I’ll survive on coffee and Skittles.

I’ve worked in horse racing since leaving university and I’ve been lucky to work at some fantastic courses before Chester. I still love the buzz of excitement that 30,000 people enjoying themselves generates and I’m convinced that the Roodee really provides the ideal venue.

Having walked the track once more with the British Horseracing Authority officials my role once gates open is to ensure that the day is run in accordance with rules and regulations. Everything from the number of doctors, vets and ambulances required to the types of drinks available for the jockeys is covered. The racing itself fills a familiar pattern of the Parade Ring before a race, watching the race from the Stewards Box and congratulations in the Winners Enclosure afterwards.

The welfare of horse and rider is crucial to all of us at Chester and I’ll spend as much time as possible with the medical and veterinary teams to ensure that they have all of the equipment and facilities required.

If things have gone mostly to plan I’ll leave at around 8pm and grab a drink and a bite to eat with the team before heading home to catch up on sleep. Dress: On race days I wear a smart suit, on other days I can often be found wearing wellies.

What is the favourite part of your job?

The sense that everything is coming together and that all the hard work of the team is going to pay off to produce a fantastic day’s racing, that’s a good feeling. And you can’t help but be moved by the roar of the crowd.