As we count down the days to the start of the new season at Kelso, we receive an increasing number of visitors: delivery drivers, contractors, and customers collecting tickets. They stand at the office doorway and look out at the track, “So… are you ready for racing on Wednesday?”

“No,” I reply. And they always look a bit alarmed, “But we should be ready by Wednesday morning.”

One of the things that I love about running a racecourse is the mounting sense of excitement as each raceday approaches, especially at the start of a season when all is ahead of us. The ink is barely dry on the race programme and we have all those good races to look forward to: from National Hunt Flat Races with baby champions just waiting to be spotted, through all classes of the handicap system to graded races like the Premier Novices Hurdle and Premier Steeplechase.

Every race is a target for someone, every raceday an event for the Audience (which happens to be the name of Saturday’s selection in Doncaster’s Park Stakes).

The steeplechase fences have been stuffed with birch, measured and approved. Several miles of running rail has been placed around the track, marquees built and signage erected. The shiny new stable canteen (known as The Feed Room) has been furnished with pristine chairs, tables and televisions. Brand new weighing scales have been installed for the jockeys. Wifi equipment has been serviced, fire alarms tested and CCTV cameras repaired. Horses have been entered and jockeys provisionally booked.

We’re under starter’s orders… but there’s no point in having absolutely everything prepared five days in advance – the grass will keep on growing, the wind will dry the track, floors will get walked over, and food won’t keep. The thing I love about racedays is that they have to be brought to the boil slowly – tasks completed in a logical order so that the grass is just the right height, the turf containing just the right amount of moisture, the buildings tidy and the refreshments fresh.

Unlike a restaurant or an amusement arcade, racecourses aren’t frozen in time – you can’t just turn up and expect a consistent experience at any hour of the day. Each raceday starts at a fixed time and builds to a series of crescendos where the horses are off and everyone holds their breath… just for an instant… until the runners approach the finish… when everyone goes crazy.

A raceday is about being in the moment, feeling the tension and appreciating the atmosphere. It’s exciting, energising, vital.

Which is why, despite having had three months to prepare for the first fixture of the season, we’re not yet ready for racing at Kelso on Wednesday. We’ll continue putting the finishing touches to the racecourse until the morning. At 2.30pm we’ll open the gates and we’ll almost be there…

The big question is: Will you?