CHESTER is the oldest racecourse in Britain but it moves with the times and significant changes are on the way in 2006.
As of this year, racehorses have walked through the streets of the city for the last time.
It is one of the most famous images in horse racing. But it is now one that must move into the history books.
For when the annual May Festival starts this year, new multi-million pound facilities for horses, vets and stable staff will have been opened on the Old Port.
The horses will still walk through a railway arch as they make their way through to the parade rings, but in a confined area away from traffic.
The three days of the May Festival are synonymous with style. But equally renowned every year is the huge number of people who congregate in the centre of The Roodee for the Family Funday in the summer.
The crowd was 40,000 in 2005 and, if the weather is good, a repeat can be expected this year.
While many visitors are attracted by the social side of racing, the racecourse also remains totally committed to high quality racing.
The traditional Derby trials in May - the Chester Vase and the Dee Stakes - attracted competitive fields last year, and the winners performed with credit in The Derby. In 2006, Anak Pekan may attempt to win the Chester Cup for the third year in a row, after winning last year against the odds.
Tickets are already selling for the May Festival and every other meeting in 2006, both at the racecourse and the internet at www.chesterraces.co.uk - public enclosures are priced between £7 and £37 for May.
For those fans who cannot wait until May, there is plenty of National Hunt racing at Bangor-on-Dee. The next meeting there is on Friday, February 10.
