The United Kingdom is one of the most obsessed places with sports. When you think about sports in the UK, you often think about cities such as London, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow, or Edinburgh. But England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are so densely populated, and there are so many sports-oriented cities that it's hard to count them all.

Nonetheless, our view today is going to be a bit broader. So, the centerpiece of our article will be the city of Exeter. A truly sports town located in the southwest of England has plenty to offer in terms of sports events, and sports teams. The year has just started, and the sports calendar in this city is already packed full. The city thrives on sporting activities that range from horse racing, running, regattas, football, to rugby. A bit for everyone. 

Exeter is located on the river Axe, a city built around the Gothic Exeter Cathedral and overlooked by the Exeter Castle, a Norman Landmark. As you can see, it is a place that's worth visiting in a tourist sense too, but today, we're going to be focusing only on the sports. Without further ado, let us take a look at the sporting schedule of the city of Exeter. You will be glad to hear that plenty of the events described below will be available at Stake.com. Let's get going. 

Horse Racing 

Exeter takes a lot of pride in its horse racing. Exeter Racecourse is one of the most progressive tracks in the UK and is surrounded by staggering Devon Countryside. It is home to plenty of competitive racing and this is one of the racetracks with the best facilities and transport links. When National Hunt season begins, Exeter is where you want to be. 

Exeter Racecourse has 17 days of Jump racing, and its bleachers are home to thousands of fans throughout the year. Hospitality and restaurant packages are something this racetrack takes a lot of pride in, so when visiting Exeter as a tourist, you want to become a part of its horse racing season at least for a bit. 

It's always interesting to hear that horse racing has existed in Exeter since the 17th century. Just like in other parts of England, it was all due to Charles II's love for horses. Its Jockey Club is one of the oldest in the UK, dating back to 1750. Throughout history, it changed the name a few times. Previously, it was called Haldon Racecourse, Devon & Exeter Racecourse, while today, it's known as Exeter Racecourse.  

If you're a fan of sports betting, some of the races you want to see in Exeter include Afternoon Racing on January 29th, Super Sunday on February 9th, Devon National Raceday on 21st of February, Construction Raceday on Match 7th, Afternoon Racing on Match 18th, Family Raceday on 23rd March, Spring Raceday on 2nd April, The Heavitree Brewery Ladies NIght on 11th of April, Season Opener on 9th October, and Best Mate Chase Day on 21st of October. 

What you want to know is that after the horseracing season is opened in October, Exeter is home for 17 Jump races from October to December and the famous Haldon Gold Cup. As you can see, there will be plenty of horse racing in Exeter in the coming months, and if you're in love with horses, Exeter's packed schedule must feel appealing to you.

Running

Exeter is home to plenty of sports and outdoor activities. One of those that is cherished by both locals and the people visiting is running. Three big races are organized yearly on the territory of Exeter. The first one is the half-marathon, the second one is the 10km race, and the third event is the Moki Community Mile. The half-marathon is the biggest, and the most exciting race in Exeter, and its course goes through the beautiful town of Exeter and the countryside of Devon. When this race is on, all roads are closed, so participants can fully experience the surroundings. 

Regattas & Cycling Events

As we said, Exeter is located on the river Axe. Hence, it is no surprise that it has many water events yearly. While regattas are mainly located outside Exeter, they're still in the Devon area. The best example of this is the Dartmouth Royal Regatta which is an event that draws thousands of visitors from all over the world and is a three-day programme offering plenty for every visitor. As far as cycling goes, events such as Mountain Bike Weekend help people run bikes throughout the countryside and explore the beautiful Devon nature. The area surrounding Exeter is famed for its Jurassic coast and more than a few natural trails are worth exploring. 

Football

As one could have guessed, the most popular sport in Exeter is, of course, football. The local football club is called Exeter City FC. The team competes in the League One of the English football pyramid. Exeter City is called The Grecians and is owned by the Exeter City Supporters' Trust. The local community takes a lot of pride in this form of ownership. The club has a lot of history being founded in 1901 and are dubbed as the first team to ever face a Brazilian club. Exeter City plays its home games at St James Park and has been doing so since its inception. 

While the club has often been between the divisions, in recent years, they are a regular participant in the third league of English football. While the club has high aspirations, this is not the year when they will reach the promotion. When writing this article, Exeter City FC sits at the 16th position in League One. While safely removed from relegation by the ten-point margin, their current form is not promising. The team is on a three-defeat run and will be looking to turn things around in the next few matches. 

Talking about what's next for Exeter City FC, the fans are more than eager to follow their team in the next few months as they face some tough competition both home and away. As we're focusing on the sports events occurring on the Exeter ground, we're only going to talk about the upcoming home matches for Exeter City FC. While battles in the League One are highly anticipated by the home crowd, and they will face Blackpool and Leyton Orient in January, the most prominent fixture in Exeter this year is not a league game.  

On the 11th of February, Exeter City FC will face  Nottingham Forest on their home ground in the FA Cup. This will be a must-see fixture on the Exeter FC schedule in 2025. If by some miracle, they pass into the next round, the entire city will rejoice, as in recent years, not many teams pushed far in the FA Cup coming from the League One. 

While everything leading to this duel will be put aside, there are plenty of battles left in League One for Exeter City FC to secure their League One status. From the FA Cup fixture in early February, their home ground will see some tough competition as the team will host teams such as Northampton and Shrewsbury before they meet and greet the rich American Welshmen in the form of Wrexham led by American famous owners in Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The duel against the Hollywood FC will be a matter of pride for the home players and the fans. 

We can only hope that Exeter City FC will secure League One status by this stage. But if not, their duels earlier in the year on the home ground of St James Park against Stockport, Burton, and Huddersfield will be a must-watch TV event. 

The interesting part about Exeter football is that they have an ongoing rivalry against Plymouth Argyle. The team from Plymouth is currently playing in the Championship, but the way things stand right now, they're going to be relegated, and that will bring joy to the Exeter supporters. Also, this means that next year, St James Park is going to be home to the local derby and the biggest rival—Plymouth Argyle. 

Rugby

It wasn't hard to get an idea that rugby would be popular in this English city. Even better, Exeter is the home to the Chiefs who compete in England's top rugby division. While being a historically good club, with a few titles to their name, the Exeter Chiefs are on a rough patch at the moment. Chiefs have only one win in their last ten matches, enough to sit ninth out of the ten teams in the league. Of course, there's time left in the tank for the team to turn around their season. 

Of course, the home crowd will play a massive role in having a good result in the next few matches. It all starts on January 25th when the Exeter Chiefs face one of their biggest rivals, the Saracens. If you're into online sports betting, you know that the Saracens are favored to win this one, but it will not be an easy feat stomping over the home team. We would even go as far as to say that Chiefs have a good chance of usurping the Saracens in this duel. 

After the match against the Saracens, Chiefs will travel to Hartpury University and host the Cornish Pirates and Gloucester in the Premiership Rugby Cup. While this competition is not the focus of the team at this moment, they will try to up their game against weaker competition to get ready for the league challenges. A must-win comes the Chiefs' way on the 29th of March when they face the Newcastle Falcons, a match they have to win as they're facing the only team ranked lower than them. If they fail to win this one, the Chiefs will face a tricky predicament as their next home match is against the top-ranked Bath. 

Once they face the bottom and the top-ranked teams of the league, the season will be wrapped up with duels against Northampton Saints and Sale Sharks at home. Exeter Chiefs rugby team have an equal number of matches both home and away. If things go their way, they can take the home advantage and win the remaining few matches in front of the home crowd and at least secure a spot that would see them coming at least close to the qualifications for the European Rugby Champions Cup. 

Summary 

We have an exciting few months in Exeter ahead of us. The city is truly a sports-oriented place and it can be seen through the diversity it offers as far as the sports offering goes. For fans of the ball games there is Exeter City FC football club and Exeter Chiefs as the representatives of the rugby league. For matches of these teams, the home grounds are always packed, and if you were in the city when either of these teams played, you would be lucky to get a ticket. But, if you do, you will experience the unique southern atmosphere on the stands.

If ball sports are not your cup of tea, Exeter and Devon County have plenty more to offer.  As we suggested, there are more than a few races to watch and participate in, as well as regattas at one of the most significant rivers around. For fans of horse racing, Exeter is the place to be. With a long history and tradition in this sport, every horse racing fan needs to visit Exeter at least for a few days. The year has just started, and if you have time and goodwill, please see Exeter to experience how an English sporting city looks during the season.