Kelso Course Guide

The Scottish Borders track hosts racing throughout the winter and is one of the most charming jumps tracks in Britain, staging good quality racing throughout the season despite being in a relatively remote location.

The track’s most valuable meeting is in late February, where feature races include the Premier Kelso Hurdle, a Grade 2 race over 2m 2f and the Premier Chase, a listed race run just short of three miles and the Morebattle Hurdle, a conditions race staged in mid-February which features Simonsig and Peddlers Cross on its list of previous winners.

Jumps Racing

Left handed, generally flat, with the hurdles course separate to the chase one and around a furlong shorter in length. The position of the final obstacle on both tracks was placed closer to the winning post from October 2012, negating the formerly 2f run to the line, ensuring there is less emphasis on stamina than previously. It's true to say that conditions can get gruelling in mid-winter, but on anything other than soft/heavy ground it's a track which is essentially sharp in character. The chase course has one of the highest casualty rates in the country.

Kelso is a course which puts a premium on stamina. It certainly takes a fair bit of getting and, if you think you’re nearly home when you get to the final obstacle, you’re kidding yourself. They’ve altered the layout recently, making the run-in on the chase track shorter, but that doesn’t mean the shape of a race can’t change dramatically in the closing stages. The hurdles course is different, with longer gaps between jumps, but still demanding. It’s a stiff course, for both disciplines, but a beautifully fair one.

View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald

Kelso Top Times
Last 5 years

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 1f 14y	Minella Youngy (Good)	12 Sep 2023	4m 0.8s
2m 4f	The Jad Factor (Good)	22 Apr 2025	5m 0.7s
2m 5f 133y	Half Shot (Good)	18 Sep 2024	5m 19.38s
2m 6f 70y	Bill Baxter (Heavy)	29 Dec 2022	6m 15.89s
2m 7f 96y	Hidden Commander (Good to Firm)	29 May 2022	5m 49.04s
3m 2f 39y	Raddle And Hum (Good)	02 Oct 2022	6m 30.85s
3m 3f 189y	Rapid Raider (Good)	04 May 2022	7m 30.1s
4m 90y	Grozni (Soft)	07 Dec 2025	8m 48.73s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 51y	Tuppence (Good to Firm)	04 Oct 2026	3m 46.1s
2m 2f 25y	Genever Dragon (Good)	14 Sep 2022	4m 13.39s
2m 4f 189y	Darkest Day (Good)	12 Sep 2023	4m 48.3s
2m 6f 151y	Jericoacoara (Good)	06 May 2026	5m 34.98s
3m 100y	World Of Fortunes (Good to Soft)	21 Mar 2026	6m 10.71s
3m 1f 170y	Judicial Law (Good)	12 Sep 2023	6m 14.23s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 51y	Hard As Nails (Good to Firm)	28 May 2023	3m 41.56s

Kelso Top Trainers
Last 3 years (ordered by number of winners)

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Miss Lucinda V Russell	55	11	21	£98,571	20%	-£24.43
L Russell & M Scudamore	44	9	20	£68,339	20.45%	£1.96
Dan Skelton	13	7	3	£133,729	53.85%	£10.45
N W Alexander	35	6	14	£74,475	17.14%	-£4.00
A M Thomson	35	6	13	£59,501	17.14%	£1.00
N G Richards	15	5	5	£68,067	33.33%	£5.35
W Coltherd	33	4	11	£29,838	12.12%	-£14.88
O Greenall & J Guerriero	13	3	4	£34,684	23.08%	£4.30
Mrs A Hamilton	19	2	13	£18,484	10.53%	-£13.63
I Jardine	12	2	7	£13,203	16.67%	£7.00

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Miss Lucinda V Russell	83	15	32	£143,034	18.07%	£41.53
L Russell & M Scudamore	66	9	32	£43,799	13.64%	-£38.99
N W Alexander	100	8	39	£37,232	8%	-£57.51
N G Richards	40	8	12	£38,585	20%	-£21.39
Ewan Whillans	34	8	6	£169,960	23.53%	£31.08
Mrs Dianne Sayer	31	6	9	£37,565	19.35%	£0.00
A M Thomson	63	5	21	£31,142	7.94%	-£52.75
D W Whillans	24	5	5	£40,166	20.83%	£6.38
J C McConnell	12	5	3	£22,329	41.67%	-£2.77
A Nicol	29	4	15	£34,015	13.79%	-£12.17

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
A M Thomson	5	3	0	£28,738	60%	£3.88
N G Richards	6	2	4	£5,446	33.33%	£3.41
S Corbett	4	2	2	£5,446	50%	£17.63
P Neville	2	2	0	£5,446	100%	£11.50
Micky Hammond	6	1	5	£2,723	16.67%	-£1.00
Miss Lucinda V Russell	11	1	4	£2,723	9.09%	-£9.38
I Jardine	5	1	2	£2,723	20%	£1.50
S R B Crawford	2	1	1	£2,723	50%	£0.38
Harry Derham	2	1	1	£2,723	50%	£1.00
F O'Brien	2	1	1	£15,609	50%	£8.00

Kelso Top Jockeys
Last 3 years (ordered by number of winners)

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
D R Fox	48	12	20	£99,019	25%	-£2.93
B S Hughes	39	9	17	£87,138	23.08%	£26.50
Danny McMenamin	49	8	24	£86,816	16.33%	-£20.40
Sean Quinlan	35	5	19	£43,256	14.29%	-£9.38
Bruce Lynn	26	5	12	£69,194	19.23%	-£1.50
Tristan Durrell	7	4	2	£57,467	57.14%	£10.78
P W Wadge	28	3	12	£27,551	10.71%	-£23.50
Ross Chapman	18	3	7	£23,237	16.67%	-£6.27
Alan Doyle	15	3	7	£27,452	20%	£3.63
Sam Coltherd	15	3	4	£21,124	20%	£2.50

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Craig Nichol	56	12	16	£199,828	21.43%	£27.41
Danny McMenamin	78	10	28	£51,375	12.82%	-£47.28
D R Fox	60	9	20	£80,132	15%	£2.60
P W Wadge	56	9	19	£66,206	16.07%	£10.25
Sean Quinlan	64	8	21	£49,279	12.5%	-£27.50
Ryan Mania	59	8	19	£62,547	13.56%	£0.25
B S Hughes	72	7	33	£58,789	9.72%	-£25.25
Bruce Lynn	71	6	25	£26,406	8.45%	-£35.84
Jamie Hamilton	59	6	19	£37,756	10.17%	£266.21
Charlie Maggs	21	4	9	£26,739	19.05%	-£0.92

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Danny McMenamin	11	4	5	£18,575	36.36%	£9.91
B S Hughes	10	3	2	£8,169	30%	£2.38
Nathan Moscrop	11	2	5	£5,446	18.18%	£10.63
Ryan Mania	4	2	0	£18,332	50%	£1.38
Sean Quinlan	5	1	3	£2,723	20%	£0.00
Henry Brooke	4	1	3	£3,268	25%	-£2.75
P W Wadge	7	1	2	£2,723	14.29%	-£4.38
Bruce Lynn	7	1	0	£2,723	14.29%	-£4.80
Charlie Maggs	2	1	0	£2,723	50%	£8.00
Ian Power	1	1	0	£2,723	100%	£2.25