Raleigh Gilbert

Walter Raleigh Willock Gilbert, known as Raleigh Gilbert (28 February 1936 – c. February 1998) was a British horse racing commentator active for 40 years.

Born in Devon and educated at Sherborne School, Gilbert rode as an amateur while living in Kenya in the mid-1950s, and began his journalistic career as racing correspondent for the East African Field and Farm in 1956 before returning to Britain and writing for the Sunday Post in Scotland.

Gilbert began his career as a racecourse commentator in 1958, and eventually became the first person to commentate at every racecourse in the UK.

In the early 1970s he worked briefly for the BBC, commentating on the 1971 Grand National for BBC Television, but the dominance of Peter O'Sullevan and Julian Wilson on TV and Peter Bromley and Michael Seth-Smith on radio blocked his way, and in January 1972 he joined ITV as a commentator. From that year until the end of 1980 he was one of the commercial channel's two main commentators, along with John Penney - both were heard almost every Saturday on The ITV Seven (part of World of Sport) because ITV habitually covered two meetings every week. 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.

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