Keith Dalgleish, the record-breaking Scottish trainer, has announced his intention to quit the profession this year.

Dalgleish, who is based at Belstane Racing Stables in Carluke, South Lanarkshire and has broken the record for most winners in a Flat season by a Scottish-based trainer five times since 2014, stated that this decision is based purely on his desire to have more time for himself and his family, and not for financial reasons.

The 39-year-old trainer has won 799 races in total on the Flat in Britain and 153 over jumps, and became the first trainer north of the border to send out 100 winners in a calendar year in 2017. His ninth Listed winner was in the form of Prince Of Pillo at Ayr last autumn.

Dalgleish first got into horse racing as an apprentice of Mark Johnston and won nearly 300 races as a Flat jockey, including two at Royal Ascot and a German Group 1 on Yavana's Pace. Despite his success, he quit the saddle at only 21 because of an issue with his weight.

He said that he is looking forward to some downtime, travelling, enjoying his newfound hobby of cycling, and tending to his sheep. He added that while there is no set date to his retirement yet, he expects it to be some time in 2023, when he will have achieved 1,000 winners. Furthermore, he left the door open to a potential return to the profession in a few years.

In summary, Keith Dalgleish has announced his retirement from horse racing, to take a career break and create more time for himself and his family. Though he does not have an exact date for his retirement, he is expecting it will be some time in 2023, and has not ruled out a potential return to the profession in the future.