Racing Post founding news editor Howard Wright dies at the age of 79

Howard Wright, one of the founding members of staff at the Racing Post and a journalist respected across the racing world, died on Friday morning after a short illness. He was 79.

Wright began his career in journalism when he joined Timeform in 1964 and was still writing in the weeks before his death.

When the Racing Post launched in 1986, Wright was news editor working with the paper's founding editor Graham Rock.

He later was appointed industry editor, becoming the definitive voice on racing's politics and finances as well as covering the gambling industry, a position he held until he retired from full-time journalism in 2012, although he continued to contribute to the newspaper and other publications until recent weeks.

• 'He was beyond compare' - racing comes together to pay tribute to Howard Wright 

Wright was born in Doncaster in 1945 and was soon to become a regular visitor to the town's racecourse. He attended his first St Leger in 1948 and returned to the course to watch the race in person every year for the rest of his life.

His first job was in the civil service in London but he answered a job advert for Timeform in The Sporting Life and returned north to Halifax to begin his career in horseracing as a clerk at the organisation in 1964.

Wright went on to join the Sheffield Morning Telegraph as racing editor, staying with the newspaper for 11 years during which time he rose to be deputy sports editor.

He returned to London to become deputy racing editor at the Daily Telegraph and then in 1985 he was approached by the team planning to launch the Racing Post as a competitor to The Sporting Life, with Rock offering him a two-year contract.

Wright was industry editor for the majority of his career at the Racing Post, writing news, interviews and a weekly column featuring comment on the industry as well as gossip and insight from a mysterious insider known only as The Fly On The Wall.

His contacts book was legendary and there were few people within British racing who would not pick up the phone to Wright, although his forthright opinions could sometimes cause friction with members of the sport's leadership.

Howard Wright (second left) with fellow Racing Post Racing Post founding members (l-r) Brough Scott, Jeremy Thomson and Graham Rock

"Howard Wright was a legend of the Racing Post and a true journalist's journalist," said Racing Post editor Tom Kerr. "He was one of the paper's founding staff, possessor of the finest contacts book in the sport and could invariably be spied at racing events around the globe, no doubt having just secured his next scoop. Although he 'retired' in 2012, he was still providing Post readers with the benefits of his immense experience and knowledge as recently as April.

"Howard enjoyed the widespread respect and fondness of both his press colleagues and those he reported upon. That was born of his impeccably informed work, his deep integrity and his laconic charm.

"On behalf of all at the Racing Post past and present, I extend our condolences and sympathy to Anne, his wife, and Andrea and Karen, his daughters."

Alan Byrne, former editor-in-chief of the Racing Post, said: "Howard is one of a small number of people who shaped the Racing Post. He was news editor at launch and later made the industry beat his own. In everything he did, Howard's professionalism, integrity and innate sense of fair play shone through.

"His commitment to racing and to the Racing Post was unbreakable. The only things that ranked higher with him were his family and Doncaster – the city, the football club and, in particular, the racecourse. The St Leger will never be the same without him."

It was not only in British racing that Wright was both a well-known and highly respected journalist. He was a familiar face at meetings and international racing events from the Middle East to Australia, South Africa to Scandinavia.

He also wrote a highly regarded biography of Timeform's founder Phil Bull and edited a number of other books, including an Encyclopaedia Of Flat Racing.

He had been a trustee of the National Horseracing College near Doncaster since 1990, and vice-chairman since 2004, and was also a member of the British Flat Pattern Committee between 1986 and 2009.