A FORMER jockey and contributor to The Press letters page has died at the age of 87.

Ken Holmes formerly lived in Malton and more recently in Cliffe, near Selby, and worked in the horse racing industry all his life. He died earlier this month following a short illness.

For many years he was a jockey in flat and national hunt racing and on retirement as a jockey, held various positions in the racing industry, working in yards in the Malton area.

He won the Kiplingcotes Derby ten times, coming second five times, and three times in third place, and still held the record for most successes, which included four first-place finishes on a horse called Tulum, owned by his partner of 30 years, Moira.

Mr Holmes said his proudest success in racing was when Lucius - a horse he had broken - won the Grand National in 1979, and in a letter to The Press in 2016 said money was not the most important thing in racing.

He wrote: "Greedy sportsmen please take notice, first prize money is £50 and proud holder for 12 months of a silver trophy.

"I enjoyed every minute of it all and would willingly do it all again. I have learned in a long life that brass isn’t the be-all and end-all. If I can rise in a morning, tie my boot laces and be able to walk from A to Z, I’m a millionaire."

Mr Holmes' partner Moira said: "He loved horses. They were his life, and he was well known in the racing industry. We have received so many letters and cards of condolence."

His funeral will take place on Tuesday, April 30, at noon at St Peter's Church, Norton, with donations in lieu of flowers to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the Injured Jockeys Fund.