Equestrian K
elso Racecourse hosts thirteen fixtures a year from January to May and October to December. The first recorded race meeting took place at Caverton Edge in
1734. Races were also later held at Blakelaw. The foundation stone of the stand at the current racetrack at Berrymoss was laid on 12th July 1822, and the original grandstand is still a feature of the track, dubbed ‘Britain's Friendliest Racecourse’. Kelso was a flat racing track until 1888, when the United Border Hunt moved to the course. Since then, Kelso has run exclusively under National Hunt rules. It is manned by just three full-time
Hazel Peplinski
groundstaff under the direction of clerk of the course Hazel Peplinski, who has been at Kelso since October 2011. Extensive developments have taken place at the course in the last eighteen months, with substantial works on the track in summer 2012. Hazel explains: “The main objective of the development was to create additional fresh ground for the hurdle track in the home straight, and the way we went about this resulted in some secondary benefits. We were able to use some new and improved sites for the last two flights of hurdles and we reduced the distance
between the final chase fence and the winning post by half; it had previously been over two furlongs. Once we started on the modernisation process, it soon became clear that the ageing frames of the original permanent chase fences were beyond repair, so we commissioned Watt Fences to replace them all with sectional frames, designed to our own bespoke specification.”
The track works altered the running line for the steeplechasers on their final circuit so that they now have their own winning post on the chase course, rather than by crossing the ‘elbow’ and finishing on the hurdle course. The photo finish tower and winning line were also adapted to operate a photo finish across the full width of the course.
Hazel comments that the benefits of the £46,000 development project are most appreciated in the deep winter months, at a time when getting the track back in shape between meetings challenges many racecourse grounds teams. She continues: “There was understandable resistance from traditionalists to changing a much-loved character trait such as the ‘elbow’, but we felt that, in the light of new pressures imposed on the track by a growing fixture list and a modern race programme, it was
Winner of the 2013 RCA Racecourse Groundstaff of the Year award for best national hunt track and, subsequently, the Racecourse Showcase & Award, Kelso Racecourse has a small, dedicated team that works hard to get the best out of recent developments on the course.
Jane Carley reports Kelso Races
Embracing change for racing’s sake
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