Lester Piggott, the legendary jockey, has died at the age of 86

Lester Piggott, regarded as one of the finest jockeys of the twentieth century, died Thursday at the age of 86, according to his family.

The nine-time Derby champion, who had a 46-year career and a total of 4,493 victories, died a week after being brought to a Swiss hospital.

His cause of death and the reason for his hospitalization have not been revealed, but his family said yesterday that his condition was ‘improving’ and that they hoped to see him come home.

‘Sadly, we can report that Lester died quietly in Switzerland this morning,’ said Piggot’s son-in-law, Derby-winning trainer William Haggas.

‘At this point, I don’t want to say much more than that, though Maureen will make a statement later.’

His daughter Maureen Haggas said he was’much better’ than earlier in the week while speaking at Haydock Park on Saturday.

‘I went to see him earlier this week, and he’s improving, which is fantastic news,’ she said. He’s doing considerably better than he was earlier in the week, and we’re hoping to send him home on Monday or Tuesday.’

Piggott, unquestionably one of the greatest jockeys of all time, rode his first winning, The Chase, at Haydock when he was only 12 years old in 1948.