THOUSANDS of people descended on Newton Abbot Racecourse on Wednesday as the sporting venue celebrated its 150th anniversary.

Punters – including film legend Dame Judi Dench – were all there hoping to bag themselves a few winners.

It was exactly 150 years to the day that the first gee-gees took to the track and over the years the racecourse has seen many unique occasions.

In 1968, the Queen Mother took a trip down to open up the grandstand, and in 1981 Prince Charles rode his last race there on the Queen Mother’s horse, Upton Grey, which finished ninth.

Kelly Rendall, who won a pair of tickets in our competition, said she had an amazing day at the races celebrating her 14th wedding anniversary.

Read the full story in tomorrow’s Mid-Devon Advertiser - dated August 12.