'There's a time to be serious because it's a multi-million-pound business - but you've got to have a laugh'

On a little table in a quiet corner of Yarmouth racecourse, among the microphones, wires and laptops, there's a long, narrow cardboard envelope with Jason Weaver's name on it. "You'll like this," he says, opening it up and delving inside.

With a rustle of cellophane and a magician's flourish he pulls out a floppy kaleidoscope of colour which, once the eyes have become accustomed to the glare, reveals itself to be a tie that only a brave man would wear in public.

A brave man or a racing man of a certain age, it turns out, because on closer inspection it becomes apparent the broad and bright palette consists entirely of racing silks that tell an ancient but memorable tale.