The saddest aspect of Berry’s death from complications from Norse syndrome on Thursday afternoon cast a shadow on the meeting, usually the biggest in Sydney.

The tribute before The BMW, which included a minute’s silence and a video in Berry’s honour, left most jockeys in tears.

‘‘It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do on a race day,’’ Boss said. ‘‘It was raw. It was emotional. We all love and respected Nathan. My thoughts are with Tommy [Berry], Glyn [and] Chad [Schofield] and their families because something like this isn’t supposed to happen.

‘‘Tommy Berry has gone up in my eyes. He is at another level. It was a privilege to ride against him today.’’

The racing industry came together to support the Berry and Schofield families and senior members of the jockeys' room, Jim Cassidy and Peter Robl, spent the day with their fellow riders, even though they were suspended and injured respectively.

Hugh Bowman, who had a treble for the afternoon, including the Vinery Stud Stakes winner Lucia Valentina, added his personal tribute after winning the last of the day on Weary.

‘‘It’s been very emotional for everyone,’’ Bowman said. ‘‘I’ve never cried on a racetrack, but I was bawling when the tribute to Nathan was on.

‘‘My thoughts and prayers are obviously to Whitney his wife and his family.’’

Bowman was only one of several trainers and jockeys throughout the afternoon who took time to make tributes to Berry. Boss said what made it most difficult was the way Berry had died.

‘‘We have been through it before, but this is different,’’ he said. ‘‘We ride horses for a living and we expect that part of the job is falling, where we can get killed.

‘‘We can sort of understand when that happens, but to have a young man be taken from us like this doesn’t make any sense at all.’’

One of Berry’s best friends, Christian Reith, took out Sunday’s Gosford Guineas on In Cahoots. He was emotional after the win.

‘‘There has been a lot said about Nathan and I don’t have to say anything else, only that we are here to support the families,’’ Reith said.

The racing community will continue grieving this week and a funeral service will be held in the Grand Pavilion at Rosehill on Tuesday at 10am. The start of the Easter sale at Newmarket, Randwick, has been delayed until 1pm to allow everyone to attend the funeral.