Brian Rylands, one of the last of the fearless "old school'' bookmakers, died early Thurdsay morning, aged 69.
The brother-in-law of Dubbo club president and greyhound breeder and owner Shayne Stiff, Rylands had been battling pancreatic cancer since October.
He had been a bookmaker for over 40 years, and was still operating at Lithgow and Richmond until falling ill.
Rylands was also a trainer of note, taking out a licence as an 18-year-old and winning three long distance (732m) races on the old Harold Park track with his first dog, Swanky Trio.
He was a bookmaker at the Wyong Saturday afternoon straight track fixtures, and also worked at Cessnock, Lithgow and Penrith.
Rylands was the last bookmaker to operate at Penrith prior to that track closing down.
GRNSW offers its sincere condolences to his wife Helen, and their immediate and extended families.
