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| McCririck was well known for his outlandish dress sense and his ebullient personality |
Journalist and broadcaster John McCririck has died at the age of 79.
McCririck was well known for his outlandish dress sense and his ebullient personality in the betting ring during his roles on TV, first for ITV and latterly for Channel 4.
Prior to that he worked for the Sporting Life newspaper and in recent years he had appeared on At The Races.
McCririck is survived his wife of 48 years, Jenny.
A statement released by his family said: โAward-winning journalist, broadcaster and for many years the face of British horse racing, John McCririck, passed away at a London hospital on Friday, July 5 aged 79.
โJohnโs interest in horse racing and betting began at Harrow where he was the school bookie. On leaving he worked for an illegal street bookmaker then legally on-course where he learned the art of tic-tac, clerking bets and making a book.
โJohn cut his teeth in racing journalism on โFormindexโ, a tipping sheet otherwise known as โThe Golden Guideโ. He went on to write for the Sporting Life where he won British Press Awards, โSpecialist Writer of the Yearโ and โCampaigning Journalist of the Yearโ.
โJohn joined ITV in 1981 for Shergarโs Derby then became a household name as part of the Channel 4 Racing team when they took over coverage of the sport in 1984.
โHis flamboyant broadcasting style from the heart of betting ring proved extremely popular with racing fans and beyond.
โJohn continued to work for Channel 4 Racing until 2013, as well as satellite channel At The Races.
โIn this time he transcended the world of racing, appearing on numerous mainstream TV news and light entertainment programmes including Question Time, The Weakest Link, Celebrity Wife Swap and Celebrity Big Brother in 2005 and 2010.
โDespite suffering ill health in recent months, John continued to make several TV and radio appearances.
โHe is survived by Jenny, his wife of 48 years. His funeral will be private.โ
The British Horseracing Authority paid tribute to McCririck, tweeting: โWe are saddened to hear of the passing of John McCririck.
โThroughout a lengthy and colourful career, one thing was always clear โ his enduring passion and love for the sport of horseracing.
โHe was a recognisable figure and resonated with the wider public. Our condolences go to his family.โ
Jim McGrath, a long-time colleague of McCririckโs at Channel 4, told Sky Sports Racing: โJohn was a legend, one of few people who transcended racing.
โIf you went anywhere in racing in the 1980s and spoke to people with no interest in racing, they would always ask if you knew him. A lot outside racing knew him but nothing about racing, he was larger than life.
โHe was a very good journalist for the Sporting Life. In the later years of his career, he very much went down the media route, but that gets away from the fact that John had expert knowledge and was a very hard worker. He was one of the first in the press room with his figures and stats, which he adored.
โWe had very differing opinions, but he cared about the ordinary punter and he did stand up for them.โ
Press Association
