MORE than three decades of dedication to horse racing in the county was recognised when Graham Orange was handed the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Go Racing in Yorkshire Annual Awards Lunch.

The popular public relations spokesman for Go Racing in Yorkshire, the organisation which represents the area's nine Flat and jumps tracks, was stunned to receive a standing ovation from more than 120 guests at the prestigious ceremony, held at York Racecourse.

Orange has made the decision to leave the organisation after the Lincoln Meeting, at Doncaster Racecourse, next year.

He started working for the Racing Information Bureau in January 1983 but began appearing in PR in 1987 - at tracks throughout the North of England before concentrating the following year on the Yorkshire tracks.

Since then, he has attended thousands of race meetings - conducting interviews and teeing-up trophy presentations - while also doing a huge amount behind the scenes.

From his office at Wetherby Racecourse, Orange also writes press releases, conducts radio interviews, and even organises the awards lunch at which he was honoured.

Introducing Orange, The Press' racing tipster Tom O'Ryan said: "Graham has done it all, seen it all, got the T-Shirt and could probably drive blindfolded to York and Wetherby, to Thirsk and Pontefract, Catterick and Doncaster, Beverley, Ripon and Redcar.

"It's been some journey over more years than he probably cares to remember, doing a job with which he has had a long standing love affair."

O'Ryan added: "That he's going to miss his racing - and his daily involvement - is beyond doubt. Just as it's beyond doubt that Yorkshire racing is going to miss Graham Orange.

"It's not going to be quite the same without him. Doing a job that has grown and grown, he has been single-mindedly immersed in our sport, at the sharp end, for more than 30 years.

"He has given his all, has willingly and frequently gone way above and beyond the call of duty and has shown a dedication and passion that has known no bounds in taking Go Racing in Yorkshire onwards and upwards."

Orange was presented with a 'This is Your Life'-style book looking back at his career, a lifetime admission badge from the Racecourse Association and a framed print of Frankel, the super-horse who won the Juddmonte International at York in 2012, signed by his jockey Tom Queally.

Orange said: "This was a complete surprise to me and I suppose it is the end of an era but it had to end and it has just been a wonderful 32 years working for the Yorkshire racecourses.

"This is a wonderful industry as a whole and it is something very special. As a kid I used to cycle past York Racecourse and look at it from Tadcaster Road and think 'It looks fantastic, I would love to go racing there'.

"Who would have thought that I would have spent 32 years working here? It was just a dream come true. Whoever is going to take over is going to be very fortunate, very lucky indeed.

"I have had tremendous support from all the Yorkshire racecourses. It has been a total honour to be part of Go Racing in Yorkshire. Hopefully, over the years, I have contributed to its success.

"This was totally unexpected."