HER Royal Highness The Princess Royal will be in the Scottish Borders tomorrow (Monday April 17 2023) at the Kelso Races Bicentenary Celebration.

The Raceday falls exactly two-hundred years and one day after the inaugural fixture staged on the Berrymoss on 16th April, 1823.

The original grandstand, which is still in use today, was commissioned by the fifth Duke of Roxburghe and designed by the renowned Yorkshire-based architect John Carr.

The foundation stone for the grandstand was laid on July 12 1822, and the surrounding land drained in order to accommodate the racing surface for the first purpose-built racecourse in Scotland. 

To celebrate the occasion there will be a short ceremony, prior to the start of racing, at which The Princess Royal will unveil a stone plaque within the Winners Enclosure.

She will also present a trophy to the winning connections of the Berrymoss Bicentenary Handicap Hurdle Race at 2.15pm and for the Kings Own Scottish Borderers Handicap Chase at 2.45pm.

In addition she will also attend a Scottish Borders Council Reception for Carers at Kelso Racecourse

 

The gates will open at 11.30am and the first race is scheduled to get underway at 1.40pm.