The tributes were paid to the famous Scottish bookmaker Tommy Morton after he died of a heart attack while working at Ayr Racecourse on 12 March. He is 90 years old.
Morton, who has traded under his own name, celebrated 60 years as an oncourt class in 2017 and Ayr celebrated his service by naming a race in his honor. He is a regular at all races in Scotland, as well as a few in northern England.
He collapsed just before the second race near his field, located near the parade ring. Paramedics attended to him before he was transported to nearby Ayr hospital, but he died that night, with his son and daughter present.
Iain Ferguson, Ayr’s head of PR, said: “Tommy Morton is one of the true figures in the Scottish racing scene. He celebrated his 90th birthday earlier this year and still works at most. all meetings at Ayr and other Scottish races.”
“He was treated after collapsing around the time of Saturday’s second race and was taken to hospital, where he sadly passed away. We offer our condolences to his family. his family at this very difficult time. He will mourn everyone who knew him. He was a lovely man.”
Other bookmakers also paid tribute, including in a blog by Andy Stallard from CairnBet.
The post read: “I believe we have lost another solid man in the ring, Tommy Morton, who is still a favorite at 90 and of course today,” Stallard said. “I had a few minutes with him before we started and you can see the sparkle in his eyes when he asks me about Cheltenham next week, and you just know he’s going to love it. down there and got stuck in some of the short ones.”
“My condolences to Billy and all of his family and friends; we’ll try to reach it Honeysuckle Beat for your honor on Tuesday, Tommy. “
