‘Nothing ever seemed to faze him’: Ken Oliver, former racing editor of the Guardian, dies aged 86

Tributes are paid to the much-loved and respected Fleet Street veteran who also tipped as ‘Larry Lynx’ Ken Oliver, who has died at the age of 86, was the Guardian’s racing editor for many years until his retirement in 2004, at the end of a lifetime in racing journalism at publications including the London Evening News, the Sporting Life, the Sun, the London Daily News, the Sunday People – where he tipped as Larry Lynx – and as the editor of Ruff’s Guide to the Turf, the racing equivalent of Wisden. Ken was the racing editor when I joined the Guardian in 2001 and he was a joy to work with: an old-school veteran of the glory days of Fleet Street, blessed with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the sport and steeped in all the rhythms and traditions of daily papers that would soon be ushered into history by the internet. He was also unflappable, understanding when a story or plan went awry, and the best possible company for a pint or two in a local watering hole once the first edition had been put to bed...