PIC: AP McCoy got a wonderful standing ovation after winning the lifetime achievement award at the SPOTY

Incredibly well deserved.

Without a hint of hyperbole, AP McCoy is as important a character to horse racing as Maradona is to football or Muhammad Ali to boxing. The stats don't lie. He's won more than 4,300 races, is a 20 time champion, picked himself up from almost 1,000 falls and recovered from 40 broken bones. In an incredible career, he has won the Grand National, two Cheltenham Gold Cups, three Champion Hurdles and the Champion Chase before retiring in April this year. While there's countless other brilliant winners this evening at the Sports Personality of the Year awards, very few have done or won as much as AP McCoy has in horse racing. There's wasn't a single person sitting down when he took to the podium to collect a well earned lifetime achievement award. Take a look. https://twitter.com/paulorossradio/status/678667811783385088 https://twitter.com/CodettaDerry/status/678670712140398594 Naturally, there have been countless tributes paid to McCoy on this special evening for him and his family. https://twitter.com/BBCSPOTY/status/678667761644539904 https://twitter.com/C_oFarrell/status/678668374084292608 https://twitter.com/HonestFrank/status/678666841825402880 https://twitter.com/fizzer18/status/678669014390980611