This month Mattel revealed the latest incarnations of Barbie and Ken, the fashion dolls, which have been designed to be more inclusive by displaying a diverse range of characteristics. There are now dolls with disabilities, a huge variety of hair styles and even some with the skin condition vitiligo.

And while we should probably applaud their effort, it’s disappointing to note just how unrepresentative the range still is. Despite Barbie being 63 years old, there are absolutely no tweed-wearing Kens in the 50+ age bracket…

No celebration is complete without a feast, so I’m all in favour of the Fortnum & Mason sponsored competition to develop a special pudding recipe with which to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Not to be outdone, we’ve set about creating our own celebratory pudding for Kelso Racecourse’s Bicentenary…

It doesn’t matter what tone I use with my dog, nor how large the rotting chunk of roadkill that it holds in its mouth, there is absolutely nothing that I can do to prevent the dog from swallowing large pieces of long-deceased wildlife.

The more urgent the protestation, the more rapidly the dog guzzles long straggly bits of fluff and gristle – which puts me in mind of the current debate about the size of the race programme.

Some readers have remarked, perish the thought, that the outlook of this blog can err on the narrow side of parochial. I think that’s a little unfair.

I’ve been following the news about the invasion of Ukraine, the response of the World community and all the sabre-rattling remarks regarding nuclear deterrents. Having considered all the scenarios, the conclusion I’ve come to is that, if forced down the route of mutually assured destruction, I’ll be really pissed-off if anyone presses the button before Ladies Day at the end of May.

Despite having two more fixtures to stage at Kelso before the annual Summer break, the official Jump Racing season will reach its conclusion at Sandown Park on Saturday when Brian Hughes will be crowned Champion Jockey for the second time.

While riding two-hundred winners is a tough task, deciding the winner of the jockeys’ championship is pretty straightforward – determined, as it is, by the total number of victories. Not so Kelso’s ‘Shades Of Midnight Award’ for the Horse of the Season, the winner of which will be determined by a panel of judges who face an unenviable task…

I’ve previously claimed, in this space, that I worship at the Chapel of Steeplechasing and that horse racing is my religion.

It’s not true of course…

Almost one in four adults in the United Kingdom will place a bet on the Grand National on Saturday, attracted by the romance of the World’s most famous steeplechase and the prospect of picking a winner at long odds.

Normally I’d tell you which horse to back, but it doesn’t seem much of a challenge – so instead I’m going to give you the winners of the first six races on the card…

The team at Kelso Racecourse really know how to have a good time, so when I heard that we’d booked The Balancing Ducks as part of the entertainment on Ladies Day I was intrigued and immediately looked them up online…

There’s a multitude of reasons why horses develop large public followings – the flashy brilliance of Desert Orchid, the perennial pre-eminence of Red Rum in the World’s most famous race, the sweet name and high-quality hurdling of Honeysuckle.

With eight Kelso victories to his name, it’s little wonder that Big River has such a large fan-base within the Scottish Borders, but his fame has spread much further than that…

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Cheltenham Festival: the very best horses, fantastic facilities, electric atmosphere, beautiful setting, scintillating competition, etc, etc.

It is, without doubt, the best event in the entire calendar – like Christmas and all my birthdays rolled into one, only with more guests. Nobody looks forward to the Cheltenham Festival each year more than me but, never mind extending the meeting to five days, isn’t it time we thought about staging it somewhere a bit further north?