CHESTER Racecourse will host back-to-back days of racing this weekend, with the popular Autumn Festival taking place on September 15 and 16.

The annual, two-day meeting gets underway with seven races on Friday afternoon, starting with the Autumn Festival Fillies Handicap Stakes at 1.35pm.

Saturday’s racing then sees the Tote Stand Cup Stakes, a Class 1 Listed race, starting another seven-card raceday off from 2.05pm.

Guests visiting the racecourse for the second day of the Autumn Festival will also have the opportunity to watch a pantomime horse race for charity, which features a cow, unicorn and zebra among the line-up.

Several entrants and businesses will be running the final half furlong at 1.05pm to raise vital funds for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, helping the charity to continue providing end-of-life care and support to local individuals and families.

Caroline Siddall, Director of Income Generation for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, said: "We are excited to be running our pantomime horse race on Saturday at Chester Racecourse’s Autumn Festival. We have had great fun organising this event and thank the racecourse for agreeing to support and stage this race on the historic and famous Roodee. This race has been a novel way for us to engage with local businesses to help raise money for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd and we now look forward to watching the race unfold."

For more information on the Autumn Festival including ticketing, visit: www.chester-races.com.

For further information about the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, visit: www.hospiceofthegoodshepherd.com.