Hey there, it's Steven Dubner. Before we get to today's episode, we need your help for an upcoming episode.

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slash live shows. I hope to see you there. And now here is today's episode.

Earlier this year, I was visiting Chester, a mid-sized city in the northwest of England,

a few miles from the Welsh border.

Chester was founded nearly 2,000 years ago as a Roman fortress.

And most of those old Roman walls are still standing, a rough rectangle that surrounds the city center. Chester also has a large and beautiful cathedral, parts of which date back nearly 1,000 years. It was a cathedral that brought me and some colleagues to Chester. We were retracing the steps of the 18th century composer George Friedrich Handel and his groundbreaking Messiah.

You will hear those episodes eventually, but that's not what today's episode is about.

Because Chester is not only a cathedral city and a city with the most complete Roman walls in all of Britain.

It is also home to the Chester Racecourse, which dates back nearly 500 years,

which makes it the oldest continuously operating horse track in the world.

And we happened to be visiting Chester on the first day of the summer racing season.

So we strolled down the high street toward the track.

...