ONE of the region’s racing greats has died at the age of 69.

Patrick Haslam trained more than 1,000 winners during his long career, gaining victories at every British racecourse.

After spells as a trainer at Lambourn and Newmarket, he moved to Middleham, North Yorkshire, in 1991 and retired in 2010, handing the reins to his son Ben.

Ben told the Racing Post: "Dad was a great role model to me.

“He was a proper old-fashioned trainer; he was tough and demanded hard work, which was a side of working for him, but as a father he was very caring and very loving. No-one could have asked for a better father.

“People within the industry who knew him over the 40 years he’d been involved in racing would say he was one of the most respected trainers and people in racing.

"He was widely respected by other trainers, jockeys and his staff, who he never made life easy for, but every one of them tells me how much they loved working for him.