after Best Mate, as well as the Desert Orchid restaurant. For non-premier ticket holders, there is the Romany King bar, and burger van. Location The course is at the top of the Haldon Hills, near Exeter. At above sea level, the racecourse is the highest in the United Kingdom. The original course was described as a "fine oval course of two miles", though in the 1850s an additional flat course was added, one mile long, making the total course length three miles. By the 1940s, the steeplechase matched the line of the original course. One lap of the course includes eleven fences, two of which are open ditches and one a water jump. Notable races The course has historically had a Gold Cup race, which was won in 1807 by Lord Charles Somerset's horse, Bagatelle, sire of Sir Peter Teazle. There have also been special races in the 1810s to focus on three-year-old thoroughbreds foaled in the West Country. Presently the best known race is the Haldon Gold Cup, held in November. In 2005 the three-time winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Best Mate, collapsed and died of a suspected heart attack after its jockey pulled up during the race. Charity races at the course have included jockeys riding Clydesdale horses in aid of Devon Air Ambulance in 2013, and Dartmoor ponies in aid of Cancer Research UK in 2014. Caravan Site During the summer the Caravan and Motorhome club run a caravan site in the grounds of the racecourse. References External links Exeter Racecourse in Little Blue Pen Horse racing venues in England Sports venues in Devon Sport in Exeter