Sad news - a part of my personal memories for racing and betting on TV shows like Big Brother.

All the best, hope you're running a book up there in the sky somewhere big John.

Tributes are being paid to John by figures from the worlds of racing and entertainment.....


"Very sad to hear the news of John McCririck's passing - one of the most recognisable faces from the world of horse racing and a great at promoting our sport," tweeted 20-time champion jockey AP McCoy.

Three-time champion jockey Frankie Dettori, 48, said he first met McCririck as a 16-year-old apprentice and the broadcaster was "a big part of my racing life."

"He was very flamboyant and controversial but I always got on really well with him," said Dettori.

"He did put on a bit of a show but underneath it all he worked very hard and he was very knowledgeable about racing."



The British Horseracing Authority also paid tribute, saying: "Throughout a lengthy & colourful career one thing was always clear - his enduring passion & love for the sport of horseracing. He was a recognisable figure and resonated with the wider public."

Ascot Racecourse tweeted: "He was an unmistakable presence in racing, and one of the most impactful broadcasters of his generation."

Broadcaster Nick Luck, a former Channel 4 colleague, added: "Life without John McCririck will be far less interesting - he was a magnificent journalist first and a great showman. So often very kind to me and many, many others."

John quietly helped a lot of people. He was a gentleman and a great tv pundit.

Why has my last line been edited when I said Joan Crawford was wrong to admonish John, who was a very fine journalist and promoted racing beyond any other individual?

Phurst met the big hairy in deerstalker at the coursing in the 80,s ,as already mentioned once you knew what he was about the appreciation of his ability to get to the point in a no nonsense direct approach grew on one. Condolences to his family and friends and to say that old cliches about the mold being broken after his creation will never be truer .Respect .

he idolized zafonic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o9cA1msMRc.BEST 7 furlong/ miler ive seen on his dewhurst/ 2000 performance. PS thats the way itv racing should be

What a brilliant man you only have to read what those working closely with him have said today. He was well loved and quite shy and his persona brought racing to people’s attention. The greatest influence in my punting lifetime rip John, thanks for the great times you brought to life for us all there will never be another like you. Another legend leaves our lives.

There as been plenty of threads over the years saying some nasty horrible things about him  but I always thought he was brilliant...RIP BIGMAC

Sent him a bottle of wine years ago for some help he gave me and received a hand written letter from him which I was not expecting. Always liked him and it`s sad he will not be gracing our screens ever again. Feel for his wife and any other family he may have.

I always liked him even before his channel four days when he extended his his already colourful persona.
I had an old picture of a slimmer Mac from his early days in a well fitting white suit with other journalists interviewing a trainer.
I sent it to Thommo to see what he would do with it on the Morning Line but he passed it over to Mac who E-Mailed saying 'What a handsome chap I was in those days.
I often E-Mailed him and Tanya on racing matters and always had a detailed reply.I wonder why I stopped watching the Saturday Morning racing shows after he got the push ?
My wife was waiting for me at York Station one Saturday and Mac was standing in front of her talking to Emma Ramsden. My wife said she was surprised at how normal he was off screen.     
He loved the sport and did a lot for it though he was not used enough because of his reputation.

Whenever he was on TV you were entertained. He was great.

Joining The Sporting Life in the early 1970s was the making of McCririck and, in a way, the making of The Sporting Life. His brashness and arrogance made him unpopular with the staff, but Ossie Fletcher, the Life's editor, recognised his worth.

McCririck brought investigative reporting to the Life, and racing has never had a better exponent of it. In 1978, McCririck was voted the Specialist Writer of the Year in the British Press Awards; in 1979, the Campaigning Journalist of the Year.

In 1978, McCririck had exposed a sting based on the fact that Extel, who used to broadcast commentaries into betting shops, gave the off-times for greyhound races in minutes, without the refinement of seconds. By briefly delaying the commentaries, criminals were able to back dogs after a race had started.

The same year, McCririck took the lead in covering the Rochester greyhound coup, which would have won pounds 350,000 for its clever architects, and should have done, but bookmakers refused to pay out.

In 1979, McCririck hit the jackpot with "Totegate". On July 4, at Carlisle, Shine On, at 11-1, and Tinas Gold, at 20-1, finished first and second in an 18-runner handicap. The dual forecast paid 45p to a 10p stake.

Persistence enabled McCririck to establish that the Tote had developed a practice of putting winning off-course bets into the racecourse pool after the race result was known.

Further persistence persuaded a reluctant Home Secretary, Willie Whitelaw, to set up an independent inquiry from which Woodrow Wyatt, the Tote chairman, was lucky to escape with his job.

At the Life, McCririck revealed what he still displays, a tremendous feel for what matters to punters, and what stands at the core of racing and betting issues. It was McCririck who issued an early, 1983, warning against computerised SPs.

Sparrow.

But then he ' sold out' and became a ' Sun Celebrity ' Tv gave him a loud voice and it became all about him and his ego.
Then followed dumbed down reality cv appearances, which were toe curlingly embarrassing.
For him then to be associated with the Sport of Kings was equally embarrassing.

facts loves chapman

Weighed in John , weighed in.

Just reading in the post....''Grow up,teach your children to behave,what is wrong with you?,..you're 55 and look at you!''(to a punter in the ring).....classic Mac.

It would be fitting if horse racing named a race in his memory.