Former RCA chief Jackson praised for 'major impact on racing' after death at 83

Stanley Jackson, former chief executive of the Horserace Advisory Council and first managing director of the Racecourse Association, has died at the age of 83 after battling motor neuron disease.

Racing administrators past and present have paid tribute to a man who helped bring racing's factions together and steer the sport through the seismic changes that led to the Jockey Club handing over the running of racing to the British Horseracing Board.

Jackson achieved this first in his role as chief executive of the Horserace Advisory Council from 1981, under the chairmanship of Bernard Penfold, and then in his role at the RCA, created with a reorganisation that introduced a part-time chairman and new managing director, the latter role filled by Jackson from 1989 to 1997.

The HAC was the first body to work on bringing together all parties involved in racing and Jackson played a huge part in changes to planning, rules and taxation.

On his retirement from the RCA, Jackson became non-executive chairman of horseracing news agency Racenews for 20 years until last year.

Jackson retired to Dorset with his wife Norma and became an acknowledged expert on the county's famous writer Thomas Hardy, giving talks on the author.

Michael Harris, former Racing Post chief executive and Racehorse Owners' Association chief executive, remained friends with Jackson in retirement.

He said: "There was no cleverer man in racing at the time. He was a great polymath with widespread interests and with a wry sense of humour and a liking for mimicking people."

Caroline Davies, the RCA's director of services who worked with Jackson, said: "He had a major impact on British horseracing in his roles and all at the RCA are saddened by the news.

"He was the most genuine and honest man, clear-thinking, which was needed at the time, and he was a rock for racing with his steady hand guiding the sport, which was essential during that period of change.

"Personally he did a huge amount for me, always with wise counsel and with a story for everything."

The late Angus Crichton-Miller, who succeeded Jackson at the RCA, paid tribute to him at the time, saying: "Stanley has done an outstanding job for our association during a testing period which saw both the deep recession and the birth of the British Horseracing Board.

"His grasp of all the issues and knowledge of everything and everyone in the industry has been of great benefit to us, quite apart from his well-known and mischievous sense of humour."

Mark Popham, founder and managing director of Racenews, said: "He was a lovely man who knew a lot of people, having dealt with a lot of situations in his roles in racing so, on his retirement, he was an ideal person to be our non-executive chairman and he enjoyed coming up to our board meetings."

Funeral details have not been finalised.

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