Typical Day at the NRC
No one day is the same as another at the Northern Racing College. The very nature of the training we deliver and the horses we work with means the days are as exciting as they are varied. In preparation for our students entering the horseracing industry we aim, where possible, to follow as similar a day as they will encounter when they complete the Foundation Course and join a racing stable.
The one similarity to each week day is the start and finish time. Horses are creatures of habit and as such we keep rigidly to a routine which allows them to be fed and exercised at the same time each day.
Weekends are a little different, although the horses still require their needs to be met. Our horses are exercised six days a week, with Sunday being a day of rest. Students, as is explained on other pages of this website, are required to work alternate weekends. A weekend “off” commences at 12 noon on a Saturday.
Below is an outline for a typical week day at the Northern Racing College:-
| 6.30am | The senior students (those students in weeks 7 – 12 of the Foundation Course) join their instructor to feed the horses |
| 7.00am | All students assemble in the tackroom for the register to be taken |
| 7.05am | Morning stables commences. This will include mucking out, tidying the yards, grooming the horses and tacking up ready for exercise |
| 7.30am | First lot pulls out. In racing each group of horses which goes out to exercise are referred to as “lots” |
| 9.00am | Breakfast. Students have a wide and varied choice, although the majority choose a cooked breakfast |
| 9.30am | Second lot pulls out |
| 11.00am | Third lot pulls out |
| 12.30pm | Horses are settled for the lunch period. Yards are swept and all tools tidied away |
| 1.00pm | Students lunch |
| 2.00pm | Practical and theory equine lectures |
| 3.30pm | Evening stables commences. Similar to a racing stable this will include a thorough groom for all the horses, skipping out the stables, providing the horses with fresh water and hay and tidying the yards. The last task is to feed the horses |
| 5.00pm | Students evening meal |
| 7.00pm | The evening programme commences. All Foundation Course students participate |
| 10.30pm | The residential centre front door is locked for the night and the students, if they haven’t already, retire to their rooms for the evening |
In addition to the above, the Foundation students will receive regular tuition on the simulators and will participate in Basic/Key Skills training. Students will also be exposed to the industry during visits to the races, racing stables, training centres and bloodstock sales. Students will take an active role when the farrier visits each week and also during routine veterinary examinations.
