Tracy Piggott Explained

Tracy Piggott
Birth Place:England
Occupation:Broadcaster
Children:1
Parents:Lester Piggott (father)
Relatives:Ernest Piggott
(great-grandfather)

Tracy Piggott (born 1966) is a British-born former jockey and broadcaster, best known for her work commentating on horse racing on Irish state broadcaster RTÉ.

Early life

Piggott is the daughter of Susan Armstrong and champion jockey Lester Piggott[1] and member of an English family which has been involved in horse racing since the eighteenth century. Her great-grandfather Ernest Piggott won the Grand National as a jockey three times, in 1912, 1918 and 1919, while her grandfather Keith Piggott won the Grand National as a trainer in 1963. Piggott has a sister, ex-eventer Maureen, and a half-brother, Jamie. She has one daughter, Thea, born in 2007.

Career

Piggott worked as a "galloper" (exercise rider or work rider) for horse trainers in the US. She moved to England to work with her mother, buying and selling horses. She moved to Ireland in 1986. where she worked as an assistant to horse trainer Tommy Stack for two years.[2] She competed as a jockey at several meets, winning the Ladies' Race in Leopardstown in 1988. The head of RTE Sports asked her to audition as a broadcaster, with her first live programme being on June 1989 at the Derby weekend at Curragh.[3]

She worked as a broadcaster with RTÉ[4] until 2020, concentrating primarily on horse racing, but also the coverage for three Olympic Games, the Special Olympics and the Paralympics.[5] She has been a pitch-side reporter for rugby internationals and Heineken Cup matches as well as greyhound racing and showjumping. In the late 1990s, she was the presenter on the flagship sports programme Sports Stadium.

Piggott has worked on television programmes including:

Charity

She is a member of the Irish Sports Council, and has worked on behalf of charities.,[3] and Playing for Life.

Personal life

She got engaged to Stephen Mahon in 2007.[9] In late 2010, she took out an injunction against him, alleging that he had spread malicious falsehoods about her.[10] Mahon had previously been convicted of animal cruelty.[11]

Notes and References

  1. News: Lester Pigott obituary . Julian Wilson . The Guardian . 29 May 2022 . 2023-09-09.
  2. Web site: Tracy Piggott - Personally Speaking Bureau. 14 August 2015.
  3. Web site: Ireland: Her little charity is the hot favourite . Fiona McGoran . thetimes.co.uk . 2023-09-09.
  4. News: Owner removes top-class chaser Flemenstar from Peter Casey yard . Greg Wood . The Guardian . 20 September 2013 . 2023-09-09.
  5. Web site: I'm devastated RTÉ doesn't want me back and wish I'd had more warning - Piggott . Melanie Finn . independent.ie . 31 January 2020 . 2023-09-09.
  6. Web site: RTE Television - The Restaurant Guest Chefs Tracy Piggott . . 14 August 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150303201149/http://www.rte.ie/tv/therestaurant/piggott/piggott_tracy.html . 3 March 2015 .
  7. Web site: Tracy Piggott. . 11 August 2013.
  8. Web site: Tracy Piggott to lead fundraiser in memory of little Rosabel Monroe . . independent.ie . 26 July 2023 . 2023-09-09.
  9. News: Chapman's early gaffe . . The Observer . 7 January 2007 . 2023-09-09.
  10. Web site: Tracy Piggott, riding through the tough times with a winning smile. 20 November 2010 . 13 August 2015.
  11. Web site: Piggott insists her fiance is not guilty of horse cruelty. 30 May 2007 . 11 August 2013.