Who was John McCririck?

The late John McCririck, who died from lung cancer in July, 2019, at the age of 79, was a horse racing pundit, television personality and award-winning journalist. Instantly recognisable by his signature deerstalker hat and sideburns and renowned for his brash, eccentric style, McCririck was, for much of his career, one of the most familiar faces in British horse racing. McCririck made his name as the face of Channel 4 Racing, which he joined, from ITV Sport, in the mid-Eighties.

A former bookmaker, McCririck delivered animated betting news, complete with appropriate tic-tac signals, direct from the racecourse betting ring. He continued to work for Channel 4 Racing until October, 2012, when he was sacked, as a result of ‘audience research’; McCririck claimed age discrimination and took Channel 4 and production company IMG Media to the Central London Employment Tribunal, seeking £3 million in damages, but lost. McCririck was also a skilled investigative journalist and earlier in his career, while at ‘The Sporting Life’, he won ‘Specialist Writer of the Year’ and ‘Campaigning Journalist of the Year’ at the British Press Awards.