Possibility of One Starting Gate for Derby Praised

Getting people involved in horse racing to form a united front may seem like a wild daydream, but if there's one issue that can bring horsemen, riders, and everyone else together with a common purpose, it surely is a report that Churchill Downs is considering the purchase of a starting gate that can fit the maximum number of 20 runners in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

According to a story this week on the Horse Racing Nation website, Churchill Downs officials recently visited York Racecourse in England, where a 24-horse starting gate is used. 

"I was extremely excited when I heard about (the report)," said trainer Mark Casse. "When all of the people were complaining after this year's race, I was hoping we would get a 20-horse gate. Without a doubt, there's not a lot of things I am 100% sure about in horse racing or in life, but one thing I am sure about is that a 20-stall gate is much safer than two gates, and I would plead with and beg Churchill Downs to do it."

Though rough starts are par for the course at the Kentucky Derby, in this year's race, bumping in the far turn between War of Will, who was eighth across the wire, and winner Maximum Security led to Maximum Security being placed 17th as the first horse disqualified for a racetrack foul in the classic's 145-year history. 

Gary West, who with his wife, Mary, owns Maximum Security, has decried allowing 20 horses in the Run for the Roses and believes that if Churchill Downs does not commission an independent study to determine the proper field size for the 1 1/4-mile race and use a single gate, the racetrack is leaving itself open for criminal negligence charges if a serious injury or fatality to a rider or horse occurs.

The Wests are pursuing federal litigation against the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the stewards over the disqualification of Maximum Security, and Gary West has questioned the rules that allow as many as 20 horses in the field.

"As a CEO of various companies, my main priority was to protect the image and reputation of my businesses, and if there was any potential danger to humans that might get someone badly injured or killed, it became my top priority to prevent it because of criminal negligence, which can occur when you are aware of a dangerous situation and you take no action to remedy it. In Kentucky, the state has unlimited punitive damages," West said. "I have no animosity with Churchill Downs (Inc.) CEO (Bill Carstanjen), and this has nothing to do with the disqualification. I am just trying to help Churchill Downs by pointing out they have a dangerous situation with 20 horses, and they could be liable if something tragic happens."

At the present time, Churchill Downs uses two starting gates for fields of up to 20, relying on a main gate for the first 14 posts and an auxiliary gate for the remaining runners. That setup, because of a gap of roughly 10-15 feet between the gates, creates a two-fold problem. Horses with outside posts could be bumped and negatively impacted because of the distance between the two gates and jockeys trying to angle toward the rail. Also, because of the added length required for two gates, unlucky horses who draw post 1 often are crowded as they try to move out a bit coming out of the chute before they reach the rail used for the main track.

As 18-to-20-horse fields with two starting gates have become commonplace, the last Kentucky Derby winner to break from post 1 was Ferdinand in 1986.

When asked about the interest in a single starting gate, Churchill Downs' senior director of communications and media services, Darren Rogers, said, "We're always looking at ways to further enhance our product. Churchill Downs racetrack officials visited York last weekend to explore the feasibility of an expanded starting gate." 

Others were more willing to talk about the possibility of a single gate and praised the idea, including Casse, whose War of Will drew post 1 but broke from the second stall after a scratch left the first stall vacant. War of Will started from the second stall from the rail.

"Someone told me they were moving me out a stall because it would be safer. So it wouldn't have been as safe from post 1? That's scary to hear," Casse said. "I had a long conversation with (Hall of Fame jockey) John Velazquez about this, and if you went to a 20-stall gate, it would give you more room."

Ron Lombardi owns Firenze Fire, who broke from the rail in the 2018 Kentucky Derby and finished 11th. He would welcome a single starting gate that would fit better on the racetrack, allow the inside post to be farther from the rail, and reduce the scrambling for position at the start of the race and during the long run to the first turn. 

"Because of the gap, the 20 post is actually the 22 or 23 path, so one starting gate would be a great change. In the 1 hole you have to break well, and with 20 horses, it's like the demolition derby out there with horses coming out every which way and bouncing off each other," Lombardi said. "I was happy to get any post, and it was an honor to run in the Kentucky Derby, but if you can improve it so that the rail is not right in front of you, it's a tremendous change. What usually happens is that the two inside horses start coming out, the other horses come in, and it's like the shifting of the tides."

While War of Will's problems occurred approaching the quarter pole in the later stages of the race, Casse said 2-year-old champion Classic Empire  lost all chance in the 2017 Kentucky Derby when he was roughed up and bobbled coming out of post 14. Classic Empire wound up fourth and then finished second in the Preakness Stakes (G1) with a cleaner trip.

"Classic Empire was in the 14 post, which sounds like a wonderful post because it's the outside post in the main gate. But look at it this way: If we are standing side by side and I hit you with my shoulder, I can nudge you a little. But if I go 15 feet with a running start and hit you, it will send you flying," Casse said. "In the 2012 Kentucky Derby, I had Prospective , who almost got knocked down at the start (from post 12) because (of) everyone flying down inside."

West's second horse in this year's Kentucky Derby, Game Winner, also had a miserable trip from the 15th stall and finished fifth officially.

"Game Winner came out of the 15 hole, got slammed coming out of the gate, and he was 19 lengths behind," West said. "He traveled 90 feet more than the winner and got beat 3 3/4 lengths. What would he have done with a clean trip? No one knows, but I believe he would have done better," West said.

Casse also believes the Kentucky Derby would be an ideal place to adopt international rules in which horses must try to maintain a straight course coming out of the starting gate.

"I think the Kentucky Derby has 20 horses, and that's what makes it what it is. It should have 20 horses, but to help, one thing they could do would be the new starting gate. The second thing that maybe they can do is what they do in Europe and Japan and a lot of other places, where you have to keep a straight line for at least the first eighth of a mile so that all of this shooting down to the rail stops," Casse said. "If everyone tries to keep a straight path for an eighth of a mile, it sorts itself out. Faster horses will go to the front, stalkers will be in the middle, and the closers at the rear. It would be an easier move over, sort of like yielding.

"It would be a better Kentucky Derby, a safer Kentucky Derby, and it would still have all the excitement of the Kentucky Derby with the 20 horses."

With the cost of a starting gate being roughly $15,000 per stall, both Casse and West agreed that cost should play no role when safety is involved.

"Cost and horses should not be used in the same sentence anywhere," Casse said. "I don't ever want to hear about a budget when it comes to the horses' and riders' safety. That word should never be used."

West believes if Churchill Downs does its due diligence, it will find a smaller field is the proper and safest way to conduct the opening leg of the Triple Crown.

"To me, there's common sense involved," West said. "There's only one major race in the United States with more than 14 starters, and before I buy a starting gate, I would figure out the right number of horses that should be on the track. I believe it should be less than 20, but that's just my opinion. Let unbiased experts determine the number. If Churchill Downs hasn't commissioned a study like this, they should. And if they have, they should be transparent and release it. If companies put the safety and lives of horses and jockeys below corporate profits, that isn't right. And should anything ever happen, I believe they could be liable."

Given the widespread opinion that a single starting gate is something long overdue, Casse is confident the two-gate system will become a thing of the past sooner rather than later.

"I know Alex Rankin (chairmain of Churchill Downs Inc.), and he is 100% for the safety of horses, and I am confident it will get done," Casse said.