THE 15th running of the annual Border Principals Race at Kelso Racecourse takes place on Sunday.

The four-furlong dash, staged for the first time in 2004, features 14 riders from around the region and beyond – each of whom has represented their town this year during the festivals.

Among the starters is West Linton's Fiona Jackson and John Scott for Biggar.

Chris Rogerson will be flying the flag for Lauder with Nicolle Burns saddling up for Duns, and Natasha Gray going all out for a Yetholm win.

The race celebrates the broad equestrian culture that exists throughout the Scottish Borders.

As usual, horses will be allocated at random and the race will take place at 1.15pm before the National Hunt races commence.

The feature race of the day is the £40,000 NSPCC School Service Handicap Steeplechase.

The two-mile race is sponsored by Ray and Anita Green, on behalf of the charity, and they have a likely runner in the shape of Upsilon Bleu, trained by the Otterburn based Pauline Robson.

The race represents one of the first significant skirmishes of the core National Hunt season and has become a traditional starting point for the Grade 1 winning chaser Simply Ned, who has won the race twice and been second twice in the last four renewals.

He’ll re-oppose Theflyingportrait, who won the race in 2016, the David Pipe trained Vaniteux, Vosne Romanee and the locally owned Mixboy.

The first race, the Radio Borders Handicap Hurdle, also features the first and second from last year among a strong field of 17 entries. Newstart, who won the race last season for Brian Ellison is now trained by Katie Scott, while Martila is another runner for the Pauline Robson/Ray Green combination.

Donald McCain could hold the key to the two mile novice hurdle race as he’s double handed at the entry stage with the smart pair: Val Mome and Noah And The Ark. Hitman Fred could be an interesting runner for Rose Dobbin.

Harriet Graham’s Aye Right landed a nice gamble at the opening meeting of the season and could reappear in the Alistair Rutherford’s Retirement Novices Hurdle.

The race has been named for Alistair, who retires from Anderson's Butchers this year and will present the mementoes to the winning connections after the race.

The Queens Head Hotel, located just off the square in Kelso, is a popular staging post for trainers and stable staff who are staying over the night before a raceday and owner Mark Hay has become a regular sponsor at the local track.

The Queens Head Novices Handicap Chase features double entries from Rebecca Menzies and Mick Hammond, both of whom tend to have plenty of runners at Kelso throughout the season. Swinton Diamond may be the pick for Mick Hammond, while Tanacando is worth a second look for trainer Tim Vaughan.

The final race of the day, attracting 29 entries, is the P&G Allan Catering Handicap Hurdle. Slaney Craiglegacy is another winner from Kelso’s first Autmun meeting, losing her maiden tag at the 17th attempt.

The mare is trained near Alnwick, in Northumberland, by Hugh Burns who is originally from East Lothian. Irish trainer John McConnell is also a qualified vet and he has close recent Clonmel runner-up, Montys Angel, earmarked for the race.

The gates will for Kelso’s Sunday fixture at 12.30pm.

The Border Principals Race is due off at 1.15pm and the first official race at 2.20pm; the final race at 5.25pm.