Alastair Gordon Lyell Down (9 February 1956 – 1 November 2024) was an English journalist and broadcaster who wrote for Sporting Life and Racing Post and covered horse racing for Channel 4 Racing.
Early life and education
Alastair Gordon Lyell Down was born on 9 February 1956.[1][2] His father, Gordon Down, was an insurance broker, and his mother, Pam, was a gardener. He grew up in Bromley.[1] Down graduated from Tonbridge School and later from the University of York. He said that he attended the University of York because seven racecourses were within an hour's drive of it. At university, Down spent much of his time betting on horse races. He boasted that in his final two years there, he attended only two lectures.[3][2][4]
Career
Down started his career in 1979 with Raceform, shortly before joining The Sun. He then joined Sporting Life two years later, in 1981.[3] He was made the lead presenter of Channel 4 Racing in 2001.[5] His role on the show was particularly prominent when it focused on jump racing.[4] When Channel 4 Racing employed a new production company in 2012, Down was dropped along with John McCririck and Mike Cattermole, which ended his frequent television appearances.[3]
A collection of his writings, titled The Down Side: The Very Best of Racing's Top Writer and TV Presenter, was published in 2012.[6] Its sequel, Cheltenham et Al: The Best of Alastair Down, was compiled by Sean Magee and published in 2014.[2] The book won the 2015 British Sports Book Award in the Best Horse Racing Book category, the last one to do so.[7]
Personal life and death
Down was married to Frances Down (née Werner) from 1988. He later separated from her.[1] They had three children together and he had a daughter from another relationship.[2][4] His daughter Saskia was killed in the 2019 London Bridge stabbing.[8] According to the Racing Post, he never recovered emotionally from her death and drinking became a "safe haven" for him.[4]
Down received the Racing Writer of the Year Award from the Horserace Writers and Photographers Association five times, first in 1994 and most recently in 2018.[11] He was the only journalist to receive the award five times.[12] He was awarded the President’s Award by the association in 2022, receiving it in 2023.[13] The press room of the Cheltenham Racecourse was renamed after him in his honour in October 2024.[14]
