Racing fans woke up to the sad news on Saturday morning that Turffontein-based trainer Ernie Anderson had died.
While he never had the good fortune of training a real champion, Anderson was one of the most likeable men in the sport, loved his racing and was always available for a chat.
Last month he had a heart attack but it was reported to be reasonably mild and he was expected to recover.
Ernie’s interest in racing started while he was still working as a quantity surveyor and he became an owner in 1976, back in the days when one still had to sit through an interview before being granted colours for a single horse.
He started training in 1987 and had his first winner in January 1988 with a little horse called Tangi. He was first based at Newmarket and then Germiston before moving to Turffontein when Germiston closed down.
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