Exeter, formerly Devon and Exeter, Racecourse is situated high on Haldon Hill, overlooking Dartmoor. At a height of 850 feet above sea level, it has the distinction of being the highest in the country. Nowadays, Exeter Racecourse is exclusively a National Hunt course, but National Hunt racing didn’t actually arrive until 1898, over a hundred years after the first official Flat meeting on the course. A multi-million pound extension of the Haldon Premier Stand was completed in 2009 and, today, Exeter stages 15 competitive National Hunt fixtures throughout the season.
Course Characteristics
Exeter racecourse is a right-handed, highly undulating, testing oval. There are eleven, fairly stiff fences, or seven flights of hurdles, on each two-mile circuit and a run-in of less than a furlong. The last half mile is uphill all the way to the winning post, so Exeter presents a very stiff test of stamina, particularly when the going is heavy.
Track Facts
Desert Orchid, Best Mate and Denman all made winning debuts over fences at Exeter racecourse.
In November 2005, triple Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate collapsed and died from a suspected heart attack after pulling up in the Haldon Gold Cup Chase at Exeter.
In March 2011, the biggest ever winning dividend in the history of the Tote Jackpot, £1.45 million, was declared at Exeter racecourse.