Home Leisure Time The Famous Boodles May Festival Returns With First Class Racing Hospitality

The Famous Boodles May Festival Returns With First Class Racing Hospitality

We are under starters orders – and we are back! The famous and much-loved Boodles May Festival at Chester Racecourse returns in just 11 weeks and with full capacity crowds for the first time in three years!

And it promises to be celebration time at the Roodee with around 50,000 people expected to attend across the three day meeting, from May 4th – 6th.

Andrew Morris, Director of Racing at Chester Race Company Ltd., said: “The Boodles May Festival really is an incredibly important and popular date in the racing calendar and the highlight of the racing agenda here in Chester.

“We are delighted to be back to full capacity racing in 2022! It really is shaping up to being a memorable three days and indeed a season to remember!
“There is something for everyone here at Chester – whether it is finally having the opportunity to treat family and colleagues after so many months of not being able to go out, relax and enjoy yourself – or having the chance to dress up again and show off the latest styles and fashions at Ladies’ Day!”


The Festival Chalets and Final Furlong areas – which are situated track-side with some of the best views of the finishing line are once again proving to be popular.

Guests in these areas are just a few steps away from the running rails meaning they get to experience first-hand the feel of the horses as they thunder past in the final furlong of the race.

The chalets can be configured to welcome any number of guests, irrespective of how small or large the party is. And between races, it is possible to take a short stroll to the Festival Village where there is always lively entertainment awaiting guests.

Meanwhile, The Final Furlong Restaurant is located within the Festival Village next to the Chalets. This offers reserved table dining, allowing guests to keep their table for the duration of the race meeting, while having the opportunity to walk to the rails of the race track and catch all of close-up action!

And after dining at the restaurant, guests can leave their reserved tables and stroll to the rails of the race track to watch the thrilling action in the final minutes of each race.

Meanwhile, improvements have been made across the racecourse in preparation for this season, including new carpeting in County Stand, new toilets in the County Long Room and refurbishment of the under-ground walk-way which takes guests from the Tattersalls and County area through to the Parade Ring side of the racecourse.

The opening day of the festival, Wednesday, May 4th, City Day, will include feature races; Lily Agnes Stakes and the Cheshire Oaks & Chester Vase with £100k prize money at stake.

On the Thursday it is the highlight of the meeting for all of the ladies with Ladies Day and the Dee Stakes and Ormonde Stakes, again with a £100k prize fund.

And on the final day, Friday May 6th, the TOTE Chester Cup Day takes place with feature races; Huxley Stakes, with £125k prize money, Chester Plate and The Chester Cup – the feature race of the festival with £150k prize money.

Racing started in Chester – the oldest operating racecourse in the world – on Shrove Tuesday in 1539 and in nearly 500 years there have only been three major stoppages; the English Civil War, World War 1 and World War 2. When racing was reinstated in 1946, the pent- up demand resulted in a record attendance of 103,993 racegoers on Cup Day.

Tickets are now on sale for the Boodles May festival and are selling fast for all enclosures.