Occupation Jockey Died April 4, 1961 | Career wins 174 Name Roy Gilbert | |
Roy Lee Gilbert (1938 - April 4, 1961) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey who died as a result of a racing accident. An Associated Press news release at the time of his death called him "one of the most promising young jockeys in the country."
Born in London, Kentucky, Roy Gilbert was one of nineteen children. His brother, William, had been a jockey and Roy began working in the Thoroughbred racing industry in 1954 as a stable hand then as an exercise rider for future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer, Woody Stephens. In 1957 he began riding professionally but in June 1958 was sidelined for a time after he suffered a broken leg as a result of being thrown from his horse during a race at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey.
On April 4, 1961 at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York, Roy Gilbert was thrown from his horse during the fourth race and struck his head on the concrete base of a rail post. He died on the way to hospital. He was a few months shy of his twenty-third birthday.
His nephew, Bobby Gilbert, became a jockey in 1975 at age 17.