Former racing commentator John Penney (2&3 South 1946) has died at the age of 86.
Penney enjoyed a varied career. Assistant to trainer Neville Crump in 1948-49, he held a jumps licence himself from 1952-54 before going on to a journalistic and broadcasting career.
He worked for several newspapers in his time, as well as for Raceform, Racecourse Techical Services, BBC Radio and ITV.
He was chairman of the Scottish branch of the Horserace Writers’ Association from 1972-92 and last called the Grand National at Aintree in 1997.
Fellow former ITV and Channel 4 racing commentator Graham Goode said: “He used to love doing most of his racing up in Scotland though he lived in East Anglia. He was really industrious and thoroughly professional and set an example to us all. He was also a very good race reader.”
John McCririck, another former television colleague, said: “He was one of the first voices many of us can remember when we first heard racing. He was not the flamboyant kind of commentator. He was workmanlike, accurate and a really nice guy. He was unspectacular, but did the job properly.”