Wangaratta father and horse trainer John Ledger said his family did not suffer alone.

“What the racing family does is share the grief with you,” Mr Ledger said. “We race pretty much all over Victoria and into NSW.

“We live the racing industry, it’s part of our life and it becomes a big family.”

Adrian was 25 years old when he crashed to the turf after his horse, Daring Movement, fell near the home turn at the Corowa races.

He was flown to Canberra hospital but did not regain consciousness.

His wife Amy was expecting their first child at the time.

Amy and her son, Joshua, now aged nine, are still close with Adrian’s family.

Mr Ledger and his wife Kerri thanked the Albury Racing Club for their ongoing commitment to host the memorial race in his honour.

“After 10 years it can all fade away, but they continue to honour his memory,” she said.

His parents were yesterday quick to point out that Racing NSW had made the memorial race not just for Adrian, but for fallen jockeys all over Australia.

“It’s important for anyone that’s grieving, whether one year or 10 years, that the person you lose is remembered,” Mr Ledger said.

“Adrian is remembered through the racing fraternity with a race in his honour, but nothing is greater than that.”

Mr and Mrs Ledger said it was important for them to stay in the racing industry, even after such a tragedy.

“We had to get back into it, it’s our livelihood and it’s what Adrian would have wanted,” Mrs Ledger said.

“We returned to the track four weeks after he died and our first runner was at Randwick and it won. It was almost as emotional as when we won the first Adrian Ledger Memorial, our colours went around for the very first time since he had fallen.

“We won for Adrian, so there have been a lot of emotional moments.

“Some families walk away, but we came back harder.”