They wrote a pretty Hornpipe tune in honour of Beeswing, reputed to be the best mare ever to race at Kelso, and a song to celebrate the exploits of The Shunter (who scooped the £100,000 Morebattle Hurdle bonus), but this week’s blog is about two unsung heroes of horseracing.

There are plenty to choose from: stable staff, horsebox drivers, racecourse ground staff, doctors, vets, gate staff, jockeys’ valets. Maybe we should even include BHA officials – for despite playing an important role in each and every day’s racing, none are so well-known as the least famous jockey or racehorse trainer…

But those aren’t the roles I’m thinking of. Nor, even, is this a piece about racehorse owners – to whom all horseracing fans owe a huge debt of gratitude; for it is their support which pays for the upkeep of thousands of horses, despite knowing that a financial return on investment is highly unlikely.

Although I don’t say “Thank You” to any of the above individuals often enough, I’m grateful that they are there, and I try to express some gratitude to at least a few of them from time to time. Whereas, on Monday this week, it occurred to me that some people are literally head and shoulders above everyone else in terms of their effort to bring the action closer to millions of viewers while remaining entirely anonymous.

I am speaking, perhaps you’ve guessed, of the camera men and women. Racetech employ a few dozen of them, traversing the country from racecourse to racecourse, week in, week out, covering the racing with their long lenses – often from the top of a grandstand or cherry-picker. The particular cameraman that I was watching was stood in near freezing temperatures on a metal hoist as the sleet swept around him. And while the weather did improve a little that afternoon, there are days at Kelso when it doesn’t – and it occurred to me that this person must be one of the hardiest in the sport.

And secondly, another who deserves more “Thanks” than they probably ever receive is our Regional Betting Ring Manager.

Opening his report in the warm comfort of my office, a few days following a racemeeting, is to realise just how much less time I’d have on a raceday if I had to deal with all the issues that he is obliged to resolve in the betting ring during one afternoon. And resolve them he does – whether it’s obtaining pay-outs for punters who have lost their winning tickets, mediating instances where a bookmaker’s fat-finger has mis-typed the stake, or explaining the impact of a Rule 4 deduction following one or more late non-runners. Each situation has the potential to result in severe grievance for customers or bookmakers. Few, if any, ever reach the ears of the racecourse manager – thank you!

This week’s selection was a well-backed non-runner on Good-to-Soft ground at Kelso in October – it wouldn’t be a surprise if Whistle Stop Tour appreciated every bit of rain that the weather can throw at him at Haydock on Saturday.