Death mars racing at Kempton

– Racing was trying to come to terms with the death of a member of its core workforce on Sunday after Ken Dooley, a groom who worked for trainer Amanda Perrett, died at Kempton in an incident that led to the abandonment of racing on Saturday night.

Dooley, who was in his 50s, is believed to have suffered a kick to the head in the racecourse stables shortly after two horses from the Perrett team had run on the allweather card.

His was the second death on a racecourse this year following the stalls incident at Haydock in July which claimed the life of stalls handler Stephen Yarborough.

Dooley had worked for Perrett's stables for seven years and had a wealth of experience of racing. He was married and a popular member of the team.

Champion jockey Jim Crowley, who was riding at Goodwood on Sunday, where jockeys observed a minute's silence and wore black armbands out of respect, said: "Ken was a lovely guy, a funny guy with a good sense of humour. He loved his horses. It’s very sad for everybody. You don’t expect that to happen."

Perrett said: It is with huge sadness that I can confirm we lost our friend and colleague Ken Dooley after an incident in the stable yard at Kempton last night. Ken had been with us for seven years and was a very special member of our family business at Coombelands.” –