Horse Racing Stag Do

A horse racing stag do gives you a day out in your best clobber, a drink in your hand from the first race, and the chance to win back the cost of the weekend (or at least tell people you nearly did). It’s one of the best summer stag ideas going, though there’s racing all year.

It suits every type of group. There’s nothing to train for and nobody has to be fit, so the dads and uncles fit right in. The betting gives everyone a reason to care about every race, and in a big group somebody usually backs a winner, which keeps spirits up.

There are courses all over the country, most with plenty of bars, so you can start early and keep going. Depending on your luck with the bookies, it can also be a fairly cheap day out.

• Cheltenham Festival (March). Four days of jump racing and a crowd that takes its betting seriously. Book early, because everyone else does.
• The Grand National at Aintree (April). The most famous race in the country, run just outside Liverpool. Pair it with a Liverpool stag do and you’ve got a weekend.
• Royal Ascot (June). Top hats, morning suits and the strictest dress code of the lot. Very smart, very British, and the stag will never look better.
• Your local course. There are meetings all year round. Smaller fixtures are cheaper, less crowded and often more fun for a stag group.

Dress codes vary by enclosure as well as by course. The posher the enclosure, the stricter the rules, so check before you book and again before you pack.

General admission is the cheaper way in. You’re on the course, near the bars and the bookies, and it’s usually the liveliest part. The downside is queues and the scramble to find somewhere to stand as a group.

Hospitality gives you a table or a box, food, often drinks, and a base to come back to between races. It costs more, but for a big group it takes a lot of stress out of the day. My rule of thumb is hospitality for a big meeting and general admission for a local course.

• Run a sweepstake. Draw horses out of a hat for each race. Everyone has a runner and nobody needs a clue about form.
• Back a horse for the stag. Pick the one with the silliest name. If it wins, he buys the round.
• Set a betting budget. Decide what you’re happy to lose before you go, and stop when it’s gone.
• Dress him up. If the enclosure allows it, put the stag in something memorable from our stag do costumes. If it doesn’t, a loud tie will do the job.
• Book transport home. Taxis vanish after the last race. Sort it in advance.

Fancy a cheaper, quicker version on a Friday night? A greyhound racing stag do gives you the same betting buzz with a race every 15 minutes or so. Or make a weekend of it with a round of golf the morning after.