Sue Williams had a long history with harness racing in North Wales starting in 1963 when as a school girl she got herself a job as a groom to 20 year old trainer driver John Blissett who was based at Prestatyn Raceway. Sue was very gentle with the horses and looked after them superbly resulting in a winning combination that lasted until Prestatyn’s closure in 1970. Sue looked after some real superstars during this period including Make Time a top class pacer although her absolute favourite was Immi a black German trotter who she absolutely adored. Its worth mentioning that even in the later years when her mobility wasn’t quite as good as it used to be she could be seen venturing from the paddock office get a better view if we had a top class trot on!

After Prestatyn’s closure Sue retained her association with North Wales harness racing frequenting and helping to organise various grass meetings so that when Billy Williams was opening Tir Prince Raceway in 1990 he knew exactly who he wanted as his Paddock Secretary! Sue was at Tir Prince from its opening night and never missed a meeting until she was simply unable to attend at the end of her long illness. She was always punctual and showed great patience when dealing with owners trainers and drivers, ensuring that they knew what race they were in and when they could work out etc. She was also quite often one of the last to leave as she made sure that all of the cloths were cleaned and put back in place ready for the next meeting.

Without people like Sue Williams harness racing in North Wales would have ceased many years ago, she was from a bygone era happy to work tirelessly in the background to ensure that the sport could go ahead without hiccups and interruption and she will be sorely missed by everyone at Tir Prince Raceway and all of our participants.

RIP Sue Williams

Sue’s funeral will be held at 10am on Monday 13th August at The Parish Church Prestatyn followed by cremation in St Asaph at 11am on Tuesday 13th August.