Gilligan sailing through early days of meet

Jockey Jack Gilligan is making a name for himself in racing – with a little help from the iconic American television show from the 1960s.

“People say, ‘Where’s Skipper?’ and, ‘How did you get off the island?’ ” said Gilligan, referring to the TV show “Gilligan’s Island.” “It’s all in fun. It’s actually been good because it’s easy for people to remember my name.”

Gilligan is a 19-year-old who grew up in England, where his father was a trainer for 25 years. The family moved a couple of years ago to Lexington, Ky., where his mother took work on a local stud farm and his dad has spent much of his time driving his son from track to track in Kentucky and neighboring states.

“We did 70,000 miles last year,” said Gilligan.

Now riding at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky, Gilligan lost his five-pound weight allowance in mid-October when his apprenticeship expired. Since winning for the first time in September 2014 at Belterra Park in Cincinnati, he has made a favorable impression on horsemen with his positive demeanor and a maturity beyond his teenage years.

“I guess I maybe should have started out in Maryland, where the ‘bug’ does well,” said Gilligan. “But I have no regrets. I’ve been around some of the best jockeys in America. I did it the hard way. It hasn’t been good for my statistics, but it has been very good for the sake of experience.”

Gilligan rode three winners at the Turfway holiday meet that ended Dec. 31, then won races on each of the first two days at the winter-spring meet that began Jan. 1. Through Thursday, he has 68 career winners.

Gilligan said he will consider moving to another circuit after Turfway ends April 3 because of how scarce mounts figure to become at Keeneland and Churchill Downs.

“I will go where I can get the most mounts,” he said. “I hope this year will be good for me.”