Horse Around at Free Student Race Day

The city of Exeter and the surrounding countryside offer students something different to some big inner-city universities. Exmouth beach, surrounding surf spots and Dartmoor provide opportunities to break up mid-term monotony.

This term Exeter Racecourse aims to provide another day out for University students, as it hosts its Free Student Raceday on Wednesday 14 November.

Sorry, you’ve just missed Kauto Star

Free entry anytime after 11.40am, free race day buses from Exeter St. Davids and the Coach Station, and car parking available makes the day easily accessible to students. This is an opportunity for all to get involved in visiting Exeter Racecourse and experiencing a local race day.

November will be an exciting month for Exeter Racecourse, as it also hosts the annual Haldon Gold Cup on the 5 November. The event will be marking its 25th anniversary and is part of sportingbet.com’s ‘Road to Cheltenham’ series. Former runners in the 12-jump race include legends such as Desert Orchid and recently retired Kauto Star.

The first of six races will commence at 1.40pm and Free Student Raceday organizer Dan Thompson wants to stimulate student interest early in the race-jumping season. He believes the day is a fantastic day out on a student budget. This year’s event includes the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle, in which The Knoxs was triumphant last year.

Place your bets (The Tab does not condone gambling)

All students are welcome, provided they display their NUS student card on entry, and will be able to enjoy meals from the Exeter racecourse restaurant. Bars serving local bitters are bound to be popular throughout the day, and with large screens showing the progress of the races and undercover stands, Exeter Racecourse is well equipped for a great raceday.

Vouchers can be purchased for £5 in advance that includes transport to and from Streatham Campus, a first free drink and a £2 bet with a Tote during the day. So as reality starts to hit after some Halloween fun and a reading week break, the raceday promises to be a good day this November and the chance to see if that ‘little flutter’ actually pays out.