3,500 and out: presenter Paul Clarkson retires at Newcastle on Saturday

Paul Clarkson, whose love of numbers turned into a long career on the racecourse, hangs up his mic on Saturday.

After spending the best part of 40 years in racing, and officiating at around 3,500 meetings, he will be raceday presenter for the last time at Newcastle’s final meeting of 2019.

Clarkson, 66, got the bug young. "My family's brilliant on mental arithmetic and I used to look at the sports pages in the Daily Mail. I saw all these odds and I wanted to know what they all meant, so I really got into the odds side," he recalled.

"Then I went round Donald 'Ginger' McCain's yard, behind the car showroom in Southport, and it blew me away. I thought 'I need to get involved in racing'."

That began with five years as racing correspondent for BBC Radio Lancashire, while working for British Aerospace, before presenting on course, initially for the Racecourse Association and then employed by the tracks directly.

"For somebody who loves racing it's been fantastic," he said. "I've had a brilliant time for 33 years. One highlight was meeting the Queen when she presented the Northumberland Plate in 1993 but there have been lots of good days."

Having worked at Aintree, Carlisle, Cartmel, Haydock, Hexham and Sedgefield in the past, Clarkson has gradually cut back and is now giving up his final role to help wife Stella Barclay, who trains at Lancashire Racing Stables in Garstang.

"I want to attract more owners into this area,” he said. "There are only five trainers in Lancashire, I think there’s a lot of potential in this area and I’m going to assist Stella on the marketing and admin side.

"I've had a good run. Newcastle have been brilliant, they've put up with me for more than 30 years and I really appreciate their support."

Newcastle executive director David Williamson paid tribute to Clarkson. "Paul has been an amazing presence here," he said. "He has been here since I started in 2002 and has been a great ally to me over the years."

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