Lord Vestey: The Queen's friend and former Cheltenham Racecourse chairman dies aged 79

mirror.co.uk:

A friend of The Queen and former Cheltenham Racecourse chairman Lord Vestey has died at the age of 79. Vestey and his late wife Celia, one of six godparents Prince Charles and Princess Diana picked for Prince Harry, were members of Queen Elizabeth II's inner circle.

Over the years, Vestey, who served as Master of the Horse to The Queen and Lord-in-Waiting, had a great influence on sport at the Home of Jump Racing.

While he served as chairman from 1990 until 2011, the Cheltenham Festival was extended from three to four days, which includes the feature Gold Cup on the Friday.

Vestey owned and bred Karshi, the winner of the 1997 Stayers' Hurdle at the meeting. In 2020, Lord Vestey’s family were 199th on the Sunday Times Rich List, with their