Central Coast trainer Neil Lyford passed away on Tuesday afternoon just a few hours before Bumpy's Lad, a greyhound he bred and trained, won the opening event, a 388m maiden race, at Gosford.
Lyford, who was just 54, had been suffering from a lengthy illness.
Sam Cauchi, who drove Lyford to the recently completed annual Coonamble carnival, said: "On the way back in the car Neil said he was feeling real crook.''
Neil Lyford, was a top class rugby league player for The Entrance, with the best greyhound he trained in recent years being Bumpy Black.
She registered 27 wins and 21 placings from 77 races between 2019 and 2022 and Tuesday's Gosford winner, Bumpy's Lad, is from her first litter, sired by Aussie Infrared.
In the 1970s and 80s Lyford was a highly successful owner with his greyhounds including top class sprinters like Deep North, trained by Queenslander Tom Patterson, along with Short Model.
GRNSW wishes to extend its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Neil Lyford on their sad loss.
