Racing was everything for Lorna as it is for all of us

In my day job as a researcher for a charity, I spend much of my time trying to understand what makes a happy, fulfilled, flourishing life. Again and again the evidence points back to strong and meaningful ­relationships and a deep-seated sense of belonging. Racing gives us these in the bucketload.

Those who lambast our sport as frivolously putting the lives of horse and jockey on the line have got the equation wrong. The heartbreak and peril and many tragedies don’t just add up to swollen bookmaker wallets and Saturday thrills.

They’re the making of a community which experiences far too many lows, but which is ultimately ­everything to so many people.