THIS SEASON'S meeting at Kelso Racecourse taking place tomorrow (Sunday, October 7), the Kelso Board has revealed that the new layout was was a "no-brainer".

Richard Landale, managing director of the course, commented: "The decision to alter the course has not been taken lightly. We had a series of meetings with racing professionals and long established associates of the racecourse over the prospects of altering the course, the results being an overwhelming decision to modernise."

Modern day race programmes result in 65% of Kelso runners racing on the hurdle course and only 35% on the chase course. All horses under both codes finished up the hurdle home straight whereas the chase course was relatively under-utilised.

However, the hurdle course, which also accommodated the finishing straight for the chasers, was more restricted in width due to the positioning of the chase fence in front of the main stands.

The resultant benefits to the track and horse welfare were significant enough to persuade the board, who are ever-mindful of the character and tradition of Kelso, that sentiment should not stand in the way of adjusting to the modern day demands of the fixture list, which are very different to when the course was first designed.

Clerk of the course Hazel Peplinski explained: "By prioritising optimum use of the turf and giving the hurdle course so much greater width in the home straight we have created a host of additional benefits for the future at Kelso.

"We have so many more options as to where to site hurdles and the last obstacles in both chase and hurdle races will be so much nearer the stands, which will give our racegoers a greater spectacle.

"Trainers have expressed delight at the reduced length of the run-in from the last fence. As with any change to a course layout, jockeys will need to adapt to the new rhythm and tempo of the new chase course but I am hopeful we won't see so many very tired finishers in mid-winter which has to be a good thing."

With fences having to be removed and changed it was the obvious time to review the fence design. The Kelso Board have decided to replace their unique and much-heralded style of fences, which had no guard rail but used three times as much birch to fill compared to a more traditional chase fence seen up and down the country. The new fences for the forthcoming season have been built and delivered by Watt Fences Ltd will still be as big and imposing as Kelso's old fences, but will have greater functionality in that they are designed in six-feet sectional frames. .

"Part of the brief was to retain the long standing reputation Kelso has established over the years as a worthwhile nursery, developing promising championship horses for the major NH festivals. We strive to bring future stars of the game to the home track of our strong NH fan base in the Scottish Borders. Chris Dennis the Northern BHA course inspector and Richard Linley have been invaluable in finding a suitable replacement design. We are very happy with how it has all come together over the summer," added Hazel Peplinski.

Tomorrow (Sunday) sees gates open at 12 noon and the famous Border Principal race precedes racing at 1.30pm.