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'Everyone in racing knew him and I don’t think anyone ever had a bad word to say about him'
David CarrReporter
Racing is about much more than big-name owners, trainers and jockeys. Its lifeblood are the staff behind the scenes.
Everyone cherishes unheralded workers who turn up at all hours in all weathers, and do it with a smile.
Which is why there has been such sorrow at the death of the hugely popular ‘Big’ John McPherson at the age of just 54.
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Published on inRacing Lives
Last updated
Copymore inRacing Lives
- 'The only people glad to see the back of him are the bookies' - the proud Yorkshireman who achieved his Nunthorpe dream
- 'He was an old-school trainer who knew every trick in the book - if he said a horse would win, you knew it would'
- How a mare who wouldn't sell led to a legacy of Group 1 winners - and a Group 1-winning trainer
- 'We were described as vandals and all sort of terrible things' - the innovator who shaped the modern-day Jockey Club
- 'It was all arms, legs and horses and we were one big pile' - the precocious jockey whose Grand National forays proved a tale of woe
more inRacing Lives
- 'The only people glad to see the back of him are the bookies' - the proud Yorkshireman who achieved his Nunthorpe dream
- 'He was an old-school trainer who knew every trick in the book - if he said a horse would win, you knew it would'
- How a mare who wouldn't sell led to a legacy of Group 1 winners - and a Group 1-winning trainer
- 'We were described as vandals and all sort of terrible things' - the innovator who shaped the modern-day Jockey Club
- 'It was all arms, legs and horses and we were one big pile' - the precocious jockey whose Grand National forays proved a tale of woe