Tributes have been paid to a lifelong racing lover and passionate Blackburn Rovers fan, who has died aged 71.

Paul Clarkson was born in 1953, and from a young age was keenly interested in horse racing, reading the sports pages of newspapers and pestering his dad to take him to race meetings.

This passion became a career, starting as a teenager working as a secretary to local trainer Jack Berry and finishing as a racing stables director, with thousands of meetings along the way.

He went on to found the North West Racing Club and was BBC Radio Lancashire’s racing correspondent, and in 1987 racing became his full-time career.

It was through the racing club that Paul met his wife and partner of 43 years, horse trainer Stella Barclay, and in recent years he devoted himself to continuing the growth of Stella’s Lancashire Racing Stables.

Recalling their childhood, growing up in Poulton-le-Fylde and attending St John’s Primary School and later St Joseph’s College in Blackpool, younger brother David said Paul was a racing nut.

He recalled his brother looking through betting odds in the paper, fascinated at what they all meant, and begging their father to take them to the races.

Their first trip was when Paul was eight, to Carlisle, and throughout their childhood they spent many a Saturday going to the races at tracks across the North.

Paul went on to study at Lytham St Annes Business School, joining Blackpool accountants Caine, Carter & Wilson, also working at NatWest and later British Aerospace.

However racing was never far from his mind and in his mid-thirties became his profession.

At 19, he became Cockerham-based trainer Jack Berry’s racing secretary on weekends, and it was on a visit to the yard of Donald ‘Ginger’ McCain in Southport – the home to legendary Grand National winner Red Rum – that Paul said: “it blew me away. I thought, I need to get involved in racing’, David recalled.

After founding the North West Racing Club and working at Radio Lancs, he quit his role at British Aerospace and became public relations officer and marketing executive for the Racecourse Association.

He retired from his role as raceday presenter in 2019, having officiated more than 3,500 meetings at racecourses across the North, to focus on Lancashire Racing Stables and supporting Stella.

Last year was a stellar season for the stables, sending out a record 22 winners and achieving 64 places, and the 2024 season so far has seen 11 winners and 36 places in the first five months.

Away from the racing, Paul was a passionate Blackburn Rovers supporter.

He died on June 5 following a short illness. A minute’s silence was held at Haydock on Thursday, June 6, as the racing world paid its respects to Paul.