THE weather may have been changeable over the weekend, but it did not deter thousands of racegoers from fancying a flutter at Chester Racecourse.

The Autumn Festival took place over Friday and Saturday, September 10 and 11, with a packed programme of seven races each day.

Friday's racing started off dry, with one of the most hotly contested events on the day being the Deepbridge Estate Planning Service Nursery Handicap Stakes, which saw the favourite Unspoken narrowly pip 28/1 shot The Dunkirk Lads to the winning post.

Conditions began to get trickier for both punters and competitors as the heavens opened in the afternoon, but It's Good to Laugh put a smile on many people's faces in The White Oak Handicap Stakes late on.

The Golden Square Warrington Autumn Festival Saturday saw drier conditions and busier crowds, and saw Invite take the spoils in the feature race, The Tote+ Stand Cup Stakes.

But there was sad news in the third race of the day when Hasanabad had to be put down after being injured in the Homeserve Handicap, the first horse to die at Chester Racecourse since Invictus Spirit in September 2019.

The seventh and final race of the festival on Saturday saw Emiyn take victory in the Horseradish Catering Handicap Stakes.

Here are the photos from the festival, taken by photographer Simon Warburton.