Rose Paterson, chairman of Aintree Racecourse, has died suddenly. Paterson's husband, Conservative former cabinet minister Owen Paterson, said, “It is with great sadness that I must inform you that my wife, Rose, has been found dead at our family home in Shropshire,” he said. “Rose and I were married for 40 happy years. She was a wonderful, caring wife, mother and grandmother. Her death has come as a terrible shock to us all. I would ask the media to respect the privacy of myself and my family at this extremely difficult time.”
Paterson was appointed chairman of Aintree in 2014, having been a racecourse committee director there since 2005. She was appointed a steward of The Jockey Club in 2019.
Sandy Dudgeon, senior Jockey Club steward, said, “This is tragic news, and our thoughts go out to Rose's husband Owen and all members of her family.
“Rose was a wonderful person and involved in so many aspects of our sport. She was a skilled chairman at Aintree, a valued member of our board of stewards and headed up our Horse Welfare Group. She also enjoyed participating at grassroots level over many years. We appreciated her contribution very much, and my fellow stewards and I looked forward to hearing her sound views on a subject, where she was always sensitive to the best course of action for racing. She will be missed greatly for the person she was.”
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