Racing commentator.

Born: March 3, 1918;

Died: July 29, 2015.

Sir Peter O'Sullevan, who has died aged 97, was known to many simply as the Voice of Racing. He was the commentator for the BBC for 50 years, a tenure stretching from 1947 until his retirement in 1997.

Known for his sharp mind, even well into his later life, he had a delivery like no other and will be remembered particularly for his description of the 1977 Grand National, which was Red Rum's famous third success, and Desert Orchid's popular Cheltenham Gold Cup victory in 1989.

Known as one of the shrewdest punters in the game, he was still beating the bookies in his later years and, as well as being famous for his achievements behind the microphone, he was also a successful owner.

Be Friendly won the King's Stand at Royal Ascot and the Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp as well as two Haydock Sprint Cups, and perhaps most famously of all, his Attivo won the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham in 1974, a race Sir Peter later described as the hardest to call in his life.

Racing had entered his life very early on and as a young man all he wanted to do was get into the sport. Born in County Kerry, he was brought up by his maternal grandparents (his parents' marriage was not a success) and was taken to Epsom as a treat when he was seven years old. It was the start of his lifelong obsession and he would often go to Epsom on his own (he placed his first bet when he was 10, on the 1928 Grand National).

After school at Charterhouse and time in the Civil Defence Rescue Service during the Second World War (military service was out of the question because of his severe asthma), he took a correspondence course in journalism and joined the Reading Gazette as racing correspondent.

Towards the end of the war, he joined the Press Association, eventually being promoted to chief racecourse correspondent. He also gained some early experience in broadcasting, working for the BBC Overseas Service and commentating on three races for the BBC in 1948.

In the early 50s, he joined the Daily Express and became one of its most popular writers. Readers particularly loved his Racing Off the Record column, which ran for a decade from 1953 and was known for its accurate tips and insider stories. He was not always happy at the Express though and was almost tempted away to the Daily Mail in the 1960s. In the end, he changed his mind and remained with the Express until 1985.

His work in television began at a time when the facilities were still quite primitive. Jim McGrath, who succeeded Sir Peter as the BBC racing commentator, said, despite this, he had a complete understanding and appreciation of exactly what was happening on the racecourse.

"He was a great sports commentator and this was long before we had close-up shots and people describing things off monitors. This was with the famous BBC binoculars off a German U-boat, with big fields at very big racetracks. It was some effort to do that."

His final commentary for the BBC was in 1997, three months before his 80th birthday, at Newbury.

Away from his commentating, Sir Peter was involved in numerous charitable projects. He was the first patron of the Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Centre when it was founded 25 years ago and supported the work of the centre in retraining and rehoming retired racehorses. The centre was one of the first charities to benefit from Sir Peter's charitable trust which he established in 1997. He was also a patron of the Brooke Hospital for Animals and the International League for the Protection of Horses.

With his colleague Clive Graham at the Daily Express, Sir Peter was responsible for reforming the Horserace Writers Association in 1967, taking on the role of vice president and over the years was a key player in the organisation.

Sir Peter won many awards for his contributions to journalism and racing. He was a director of the International Racing Bureau from 1979 to 1993 and of the Racing Post from 1985 to 1995. He was elected to the Jockey Club in 1987, appointed OBE in 1977, CBE in 1991, and knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 1997.

He was also the author of an autobiography, Calling the Horses (1989), and Peter O'Sullevan's Horse Racing Heroes (2004).

His wife Patricia died in 2010.