The Sale greyhound racing community has farewelled a generous contributor with the passing of Peter Delahunty last weekend at 74 years of age.

Peter, a former trainer and long-time volunteer in a variety of roles at Sale GRC – he will forever be fondly remembered for playing Santa Claus at Christmas time, was an ever-present at Sale and will be sadly missed.

“Peter did a lot of volunteer work for the club,” said Sale GRC Manager Peter Johnston.

“He was very popular with everyone and was here all the time, supporting all parts of our venue.

“He was our Santa Claus every year for as long as I’ve been here, which is 18 years.

“He used to help out at race meetings with catching and handling and I can recall him handling a few dogs in his Santa suit too!

“He was a trainer as well but hasn’t raced many dogs over the last few years.”

Peter was a huge fan of local star Jesaulenko, runner-up in the 2016 Melbourne Cup, whose trainer Terri-Maree Morris paid tribute on social media.

“Pete loved his greyhounds and was ALWAYS happy to everyone. I lost count of how many Jesaulenko photos he was in, he absolutely loved him. I’m gonna miss seeing your big moustache and your honest caring conversations we had,” Morris said via Twitter.

A private funeral was being held for Peter.