A WELL-WORN piece of horse-racing history has won £500 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance in a charity auction.

Legendary North Yorkshire trainer Mick Easterby offered up his beloved green padded jacket to the highest bidder in an auction launched last month.

Now the winning bidder has been revealed as York Racecourse who swooped in with a generous £500 bid.

Mr Easterby admitted that the jacket was not in the best of condition, with holes and worn seams, but that did not his website receiving more than 100,000 visits after the auction was launched.

He told the Racing Post: “It was very kind of York to buy it.

“William Derby said they didn’t want to lose it – he thought it might have gone abroad, which would have been a great loss to British racing.

“It will be on display at the racecourse this weekend and anyone can come and see it and have a chat and a drink with me – if you want a photo then put a couple of pounds in the bucket for the air ambulance.

“The jacket is like me – it will be around forever.”

Mr Easterby had hoped the jacket would fetch up to £250.