... was previously used for an annual football match – known as the Goteddsday match (played on Shrove Tuesday, a.k.a. Goteddsday). This was notoriously violent; according to Chester Walls, "Much harm was done, some having their bodies bruised and crushed, some their armes, heads, legges broken, some otherwise maimed and in peril of their life". (Unfortunately, this website doesn't cite its source.) Consequently the football match was banned in 1533, and replaced in 1539 by a race meeting.
Marketing Chester claims that "The first recorded race was held on February 9, 1539 with the consent of the Mayor Henry Gee, whose name led to the use of the term 'gee–gee' for horses".
If you believe this, I am tempted to say, you'll believe anything.
The name 'Roodee' is a corruption of Rood Eye, which (as explained on the main page) means 'Cross Island'. During the Roman settlement of the city the site was a harbour, but this was closed as the river silted up, making navigation impossible. Towards the centre of the harbour was a small island, on which a cross was erected.
© Haydn Thompson 2017