On St. Leger day in 1976 Gorman, then 32, was ambushed by an armed mob and almost killed.
He was twice married: in 1750 to Elizabeth St Leger (died 1753), sister of Anthony St Leger after whom the famous horse race is named, then around 1763 to Marguerite Lydius; he had a son and a daughter by this second marriage.
He was a keen breeder and trainer of horses and with Sir Thomas Stapleton won the St. Leger Stakes in 1778 with Hollandoise.
The race was switched to Ayr in 1989 after the scheduled running at Doncaster was abandoned due to subsidence.
Tom's biggest successes at Manor House Stables came in 2011 at Royal Ascot when Rhythm Of Light and Brown Panther (who later finished second in the 2011 St. Leger Stakes) won the Sandringham Listed Handicap and the King George V Handicap Stakes on consecutive days and in 2012 when Ceiling Kitty won the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Graded stakes race | Preakness Stakes | Fernand Léger | Belmont Stakes | St. Leger Stakes | 2,000 Guineas Stakes | 1,000 Guineas Stakes | Washington, D.C. International Stakes | High Stakes Poker | Léger | Herve Leger | Véhicule Automatique Léger | Louis Léger | Coronation Stakes | Boissy-Saint-Léger | Bill Stutt Stakes | Ben Ali Stakes | Saint-Léger | Sabin Stakes | Peter Pan Stakes | Leger | King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes | Hambletonian Stakes | graded stakes race | Diana Stakes | Breeders' Stakes | Anne Arundel Stakes | Alister Clark Stakes | Withers Stakes | Wide Country Stakes |
Major events covered by Channel 4 have included the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket (throughout its history), the St Leger at Doncaster (throughout its history) and the Cheltenham Festival (since 1995; previously it was covered by the BBC).
The most notable horses from this era included Rothschild's founding stallion King Tom and his offspring Favonius and Hannah who between them won the Epsom Derby, 1,000 Guineas, Oaks, and St Leger in 1871.
Although he never covered the Epsom Derby or Oaks for ITV (these were always the province of Penney), he commentated on many other major races, including the 1,000 Guineas, 2,000 Guineas, St. Leger, Irish Derby, Irish Oaks and Eclipse Stakes.
In 1926, he purchased the Newsells Park Estate, Barkway near Royston, Hertfordshire as a home for his family and established a stud farm there, from which he bred most of his famous racehorses including Alcide who won the 1958 St. Leger Stakes and the 1959 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Parthia, who won the 1959 Epsom Derby.
Among his stables' significant performances were wins in the Epsom Derby (Pinza, Crepello, Hard Ridden, St. Paddy) Epsom Oaks, 1,000 Guineas, 2,000 Guineas, St. Leger Stakes, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
In 1868 Glencoe won the AJC St Leger Stakes, VRC All-Aged Stakes and VRC Queens Plate.