How Lester Piggott beat the odds to become the punters’ best friend

The New York Times published a piece about Lester Piggott in 1985, marking what proved to be only the first of the great man’s retirements. Reflecting on his accumulation of fans over the previous three decades, the paper declared: “They’d bet Piggott no matter what the odds on his horses were. In Britain, where one can hardly pass a bellhop or chambermaid or housewife who doesn’t have at least a few quid on a nag with their local turf accountant, Piggott became an idol of huge proportion.”

One can only guess at the sheer number of bellhops whose gambling habits were familiar to the author. Still, there is not much doubt that Piggott, who has died aged 86, was an overwhelming favourite with casual gamblers for much of his career, and it became habitual for journalists to call him “the housewives’ choice”, particularly in the build-up to the Derby.

It was a time when “most famous jockey” was not a weak compliment. TVs had three channels and two of them showed horse racing at regular intervals. If you liked a flutter, you were practically compelled to take an interest in racing, your opportunities to bet on football or other sports being heavily restricted. “Lester” was one of the few sportsmen who could be referred to by just their first name and almost any listener would be expected to know who was meant.

“Backers have lost the best friend they ever had,” mourned The Spectator in response to the same news that got the New York Times quizzing chambermaids about their favourite jockeys. Piggott was endlessly reliable, pushing home 4,493 winners. Most significantly, he won the Derby nine times, more than Frankie Dettori, Kieren Fallon and Ryan Moore put together. He did it in an era when the weighing room was not short of