“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…

The BHA Integrity Department is investigating irregular betting patterns in the market for the Kelso Ladies Day ‘Best Shop Window Competition’.

Among a strong field of twenty runners, the early market was formed around previous winners Swans Shoes, Border Blooms, and Glendale Paints…

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…