Former top jockey Ray Cochrane said today he felt "humble" after receiving a Queen's Commendation for Bravery for his courage in rescuing fellow rider Frankie Dettori from the wreckage of a crashed plane.
The two men were heading for a meeting at Goodwood when the Piper Seneca plane came down.
Ulsterman Cochrane, 44, dragged his fellow jockey from the light aircraft and tried to save the life of pilot Patrick Mackey, 52, following the crash at Newmarket racecourse, in June 2000.
He received the award from the Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk Lord Belstead at a ceremony at the Jockey Club in Newmarket.
Afterwards, Cochrane said: "I have been told the medal is the equivalent of the Military Cross.
"It's very humbling. Very brave soldiers who did a lot more than me have received the Military Cross."
Cochrane, accompanied at the ceremony by his wife Anne, suffered burns and bruising in the crash.
He retired from racing on doctor's orders in October 2000 following an accident on the gallops in August of that year which weakened his back and he became Dettori's agent.