07/08/2025
Why Are Racehorses Called ‘Gee-Gees’? 🐎
It all goes back to Chester — and a man named Henry Gee.
In 1539, Henry Gee became mayor of Chester and introduced a new tradition: an annual horse race meeting on the Roodee. The prize? A silver bell for “the horse that ran before all others.”
This event marked the beginning of what is now the oldest continuous horse racing site in the British Isles.
Thanks to his passion and leadership, Henry Gee's name became so closely linked with the sport that people began calling racehorses "Gee-Gees". Nearly 500 years later, we’re still using the nickname.
