BANGOR-ON-DEE and Chester racecourses have both picked up prestigious gold awards.

The accolade comes from the Racehorse Owners Association, the body that has represented racehorse owners for more than 70 years.

ROA representatives visited every track in Britain at least once to assess all aspects of the raceday experience for owners.

Chester were one of the top six in the large racecourse catergory with Bangor named in the small racecourse group.

The 2018 Gold Standard Award holders will now be in contention for their respective category’s ‘Racecourse of the Year’ at the annual ROA Horseracing Awards to be held in London on December 6.

Stephane Hughes, Head of Marketing at Chester racecourse, said: “We are thrilled to be awarded the annual Gold Standard Award for Chester Racecourse for the 11th time and Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse for a second consecutive year.

"Owners experience at both tracks remains paramount and we are committed to investing in our Owners facilities to ensure the Chester and Bangor experiences are the best they can be.

"The Gold Standard Award is a direct reflection of the positive feedback we continually receive from visiting Owners, Trainers and their guests and to be continually recognised is a fantastic achievement and testament to the teams involved.

"We now hope to be in the running for the large and small Racecourse of the Year at the awards ceremony in December.”