A trip to the sales has to be one of the best days out in racing. And unless you wave at the auctioneer (which I nearly did because he lives near Kelso) it’s completely free too…

In a two-way tussle for the title of ‘Most Influential TV Voice of my Childhood’, there’d barely be a hair’s breadth between Bernard Cribbins and Peter O’Sullevan – except O’Sullevan never released a hit record (unless you count the LP of his commentaries on Red Rum’s five Grand Nationals, which was a huge hit with me but not, that I’m aware, many other people).

While Haydock Racecourse recently welcomed their largest crowd in ten years, for a racemeeting which was followed by a Madness concert, Jockey Club Racecourses have just announced that the meeting scheduled at Newmarket on 12th August is also a sell-out thanks to Pete Tong’s Ibiza Classics.

Pete Tong is rhyming slang for ‘wrong’, as in “It’s all gone Pete Tong.” So it’s heartening that people still want to go out and have fun this Summer…

Last week we launched ticket sales for Kelso’s Autumn season. We’ve tried to hold most ticket prices at last season’s level – although we have also advertised a very special early-bird offer for the opening day, when racegoers can attend our bicentenary celebrations on 14th September for just £5.

It seemed like a nice idea at the time, but that was before seeing the news about next year’s electricity prices…

Long suffering readers will remember the beautiful pair of Oystercatchers that we christened Brian and Gillian on account of their long residency at the racecourse…

Their first appearance in this blog was on Valentines Day, 2020, when they flew in for their annual visit and nested in their usual place on the roof of the Doody Room overlooking the track.

At first I was a bit sceptical about John Gosden’s use of the word ‘sabbatical’ when explaining why Frankie Dettori wasn’t jocked-up for the stable’s rides last weekend.

It sounded a bit like the occasion that I was given a sabbatical after breaking multiple pieces of farm machinery during a summer student-placement. Only I’m pretty sure the word used by the farmer was ‘sacked’…

“A man learns nothing from winning. The act of losing, however, can elicit great wisdom. Not least of which is, how much more enjoyable it is to win.” This week’s selection is…

I’m often asked what it is that we do all Summer, given that there are more than fifteen weeks between Kelso’s final fixture in May and the start of the new season in September…

All but four of the runners on today’s seven race programme at Aintree, if they complete the course, are guaranteed to be placed in the first four and thereby earn a coveted spot in the Winners’ Enclosure.

But that’s not all: with prize money down to sixth place, only one horse on the entire card is likely to go home without a prize. It’s like a politically correct school sports day where everyone receives a reward for taking part…

Excitement builds across the nation as Derby Day approaches, not least because we’ll finally get to know what colour the ties, ribbons and rosettes will be for the Langholm Common Riding…