And the racecourse boss couldn't be more excited about the imminent return of racing at the famous and picturesque course.

Its first meeting is less than a month away and everything is set for another memorable year's racing on the downs.

A total of 22 meetings are scheduled, including the five that make up Glorious Goodwood at the end of July and start of August.

A series of three evening meetings in June are likely to prove among the most popular draws.

Racecourse managing director Fabricius says there is a buzz about the place as staff work towards opening the gates for the first time on Saturday, May 3.

"We're taking the wrappers off," he said.

"There's a lot of work going in, both physical work to improve our facilities and preparation behind the scenes to ensure everything runs smoothly and everyone is well catered for."

Visible improvements will include a new surface for the pre-parade ring, designed with horse welfare in mind, additional cloakroom facilities in the Richmond Enclosure and extensive painting work around the course.

Other changes range from work to recamber one of the bends on the racecourse itself and a £50,000 project on a new system which will see drinks poured more quickly.

There will be more space for Tote betting and a wider range of food products on offer.

Goodwood is also increasing by around £100,000 the amount it is putting into the racing prize pot, which in all will be around £3m.

Fabricius said: "Now the warmer weather is here, you can start to see how it's going to look for the year.

"The grass has been growing nicely and I think everyone here just wants the meetings to arrive now."

Even though activity increases heavily in the spring ahead of the new flat-racing season, Goodwood takes a lot of caring for all year round.

And no-one knows that better than clerk of the course Seamus Buckley, who is in his 14th year of being responsible for the racecourse.

He heads a team of nine who need to be spot-on 12 months of the year with everything from the way they tend the surface to the attention they give the nine miles of rail that run alongside the rolling course.

The affable Irishman has a glint in his eye as he turns his mind to May 3 when the first few dozen arrive of more than 1,500 horses who will race at Goodwood during the year.

"We're getting busier now, of course, and we're very pleased with the condition of the ground," he said.

"It's wintered well and we're doing a bit of spring dressing now, using balanced fertiliser which has worked very well for us for the past two years.

"We're ready for racing now. We've done a lot of work and we had the inspector of courses here about a month ago, and he was happy."

Buckley, who worked on another famous racecourse, Epsom, before switching to Goodwood in the 1990s, paid tribute to his ground staff, who include Danny Smith, now in his 42nd year of working there.

"They all take a pride in their work and like nothing more than to see it pay off with a successful race meeting," he said.

"We had a record number of runners last year – around 1,800 – but whether we will have that many again this year, we don't know.

"You can have too many – that number certainly leaves the surface in need of a break and a bit of TLC."

The season kicks off on May 3 with a Sport at Goodwood Day, highlighting all the other sports that can be enjoyed on the Goodwood estate.

Golf will be represented by a golf simulator and nearest-the-pin competition, putting greens and golf lessons for kids.

For motorsport, there will be a collection of classic and high-performance cars on the racecourse.

The Goodwood Aero Club will stage flypast and aerobatic display before racing starts.

Staff from the estate's hotel and spa will offer free treatments in the County Rooms.

To book tickets go to www.goodwood.co.uk