Duncan, NYRA’s head starter from 1970-2004, had been in semi-retirement for the past three years, only schooling young horses in the gate on the Oklahoma side in the mornings.

The crew of 14 men and one woman, Heather, works the starting gate at Pimlico and Laurel. As each horse in every race walks to the gate, an assistant starter takes the bit and leads it into a ...

Last year's Breeders' Cup is one Todd Pletcher would like to forget. Quality Road, Pletcher's star pupil, refused to load into the starting gate and became the first horse to scratch at the gate ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WKYT) - On Saturday, 21 of the world’s fastest horses will burst through a 15-ton starting gate in a two-minute bid to make history. However, inside the starting gates is a ...

The six-stall auxiliary gate, which was attached to the 14-horse starting gate, was first used in 1942 and has been used each of the last 22 years. The new gate will be used only for the Derby on May ...