Hamilton to honour stalls handler Stephen Yarborough with memorial race

Hamilton will stage a memorial race on Thursday evening for stalls handler Stephen Yarborough, who died in an accident at Haydock in July last year.

His son Chris will attend for the Stephen "Yarbie" Yarborough Memorial Handicap (3.30) and has been invited to take part in the presentation after the race alongside members of the stalls team, who will also gather in the winner’s enclosure.

Hamilton racing manager Sulekha Varma said: "Steve was one of the team leaders and was very popular, particularly in Scotland and in the North where he did most of his work.

"We were racing the day he sadly died and I know just how much it affected all the people working that day, particularly his RaceTech colleagues.

Yarborough spent 30 years in the profession he loved

"The idea came from our ground staff who asked if we could run a memorial race. The stall handlers are like family. They spend their lives travelling the country together, working in teams and there’s no way our race meetings could happen without them – they make sure it’s a good experience for every horse."

Yarborough worked for RaceTech for 30 years, latterly as leader of the northern stalls team, and his death prompted an outpouring of tributes, culminating in a memorial service at York where friends, family, colleagues and members of the racing community gathered to pay their respects in the Ebor stand.

He regularly worked at Haydock, which will also recognise his contribution on Saturday with the Steve Yarborough Memorial Handicap (7.30), which his family are also expected to attend.

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