AP McCoy riding in Shropshire
Nineteen time champion jump jockey AP McCoy was today riding in Shropshire for potentially the last time before he retires later this month.
The former BBC Sports Personality of the Year, who has ridden more than 4,300 career winners, was due to take two rides at Ludlow, where he has enjoyed 26 wins in the last five years.
A bumper crowd was expected at the track to bid farewell to the man who shocked the racing world by announcing his impending retirement in February.
Punters were hoping to witness a piece of sporting history with his rides on Slowfoot, trained by Jim Best and Vaihau for Jonjo O'Neill, both expected to be well backed.
The course does have a another raceday before the end of the season, but McCoy has publicly stated that he will immediately stop riding should he win the Grand National on April 11 aboard favourite Shutthefrontdoor.
There is also no guarantee he would ride at the track on April 21, just days before the season ends on April 25.
McCoy said: "Ludlow has always been a lucky track for me and hopefully there will be another success or two to come.
"If I'm honest, I still can't quite imagine a life without racing.
"However, I know it's the right time to end a career I've loved, every single day. I want to go out while I still enjoy riding and am still relatively at the top."
