Churchill to Debut 20-Stall Gate for Kentucky Derby

Churchill Downs announced Feb. 3 that it has entered into an agreement with Australian-based Steriline Racing to design and construct a new custom-made, 20-stall starting gate that will debut at the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

The new gate will be used exclusively for the Kentucky Derby and replace Churchill Downs' standard 14-horse gate and the attached six-stall auxiliary gate, eliminating the gap between post 14 in the main gate and post 15 in the auxiliary. The standard 14-horse gate will continue to be used for all other races.

Steriline Racing specializes in the design, manufacture, installation, and service of starting gates, running rail, winning posts, stewards towers, and other racetrack equipment for the horse racing industry. They have supplied racetrack equipment to hundreds of race clubs in Australia and have exported to more than 50 countries around the world including Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.

The new contiguous 20-stall gate, due to arrive in early April, is 65-feet wide and will fit comfortably within the 120-foot space on the racetrack at the quarter-mile pole for the start of the Kentucky Derby, according to Churchill Downs.

"I think it's a great thing for the Derby," said jockey Mike Smith, who won the Kentucky Derby with Justify  in 2018 and Giacomo in 2005. "You were at a bit of a disadvantage when you drew either the 1 or the 2 or even far, far out because of the big gap in between. It would push the 20 horse basically up against the fence, and then the 1 horse had to kind of come around the (inside) fence to make it straight. I think it's about time, I think it's a wonderful thing they're doing, and not that it was an unfair race, but it made it difficult from certain post positions. I think this should certainly even it out a whole lot better."

While starting gates have been in use at Churchill Downs since 1930, the first closed electronically-operated 14-stall starting gate was introduced in 1941. The six-stall auxiliary gate was first used in 1942 and has been used 54 times in the Kentucky Derby, including each of the last 22 years. At the press of a button by Churchill Downs' starter Scott Jordan the doors swing open automatically and simultaneously.

"We believe that a new custom-made, 20-stall starting gate will deliver a clean start for all horses and enhance safety for horses and riders in the Kentucky Derby," said Mike Ziegler, executive director of racing for Churchill Downs Incorporated. "We're thrilled to partner with Australia's Steriline Racing to supply this new starting gate at Churchill Downs."

Trainer Mark Casse, who has been a proponent of a single gate, also said he feels the race will be safer and fairer with the new gate. Casse saddled 2-year-old champion Classic Empire  to a fourth-place finish in the 2017 Kentucky Derby. Classic Empire broke from post 14, the last stall in the main gate, and was bumped hard by horses coming over from the auxiliary gate.

"I think it cost Classic Empire the Derby," Casse said. "Julien (Leparoux) almost got knocked out of the saddle. The problem is, and I don't think a lot of people realize this, but if you and I stand shoulder to shoulder and I took my shoulder and bumped you, I could push you a little but there's no momentum going. But if I stand about 15 feet away from you and took a run at you and hit you with my shoulder, that's what happens; there's so much pressure. When you have a gap, the horses go to (fill) the gap, and then it becomes the 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 (horses) all follow suit. So they all come down and they come down hard."

"It's been a long time coming," said Bob Baffert, trainer of five Kentucky Derby winners including respective 2015 and 2018 Triple Crown champions American Pharoah  and Justify. "Before, anytime when they chose post position, if you drew post 1 or 2 it was a huge disadvantage because the gate wasn't big enough to stretch across there and your horse would be pointing toward the inside rail of the stretch.

"I hope the gates are Americanized to where they are wide enough—where the horse fits and they aren't claustrophobic. I know when I've been to places like Dubai, the European gates can be very narrow and horses barely fit sometimes. There is hardly any room for someone to get in there with them so I hope the gate is safe for the guys that are handling the horses also."

Smith said the single gate should allow the horse breaking from post 1 to run a straighter course and not veer right as much to avoid hitting the inside rail.

"It made it tough on the 2 horse as well and the 3 horse because the 1 is coming out to get clear and you got the rest of them all coming in, so you get a bit of a 'V' angle going at you real quick down in there" he said. "If you didn't jump well you were pretty much out of it."

Smith also has the perspective of breaking on the far outside.

"If you're not a horse with a whole lot of speed yet you don't necessarily come from way out of it, you're kind of a horse that lays just off the pace or mid-pack, I mean you left there in the 20-hole and you look down and they're so far away from you, you thought you had to use two or three lanes just to get any kind of position early on," he added. "And of course that always is going to take its toll on you at the end of the race.

"This is going to make it a whole lot better. I'm really excited about this news. I wish I was 20 years younger so I could keep on doing this same thing to be honest with you. But I still got a good few years left in me so I'm hoping I get to try it out this year and maybe a few more years."

All starting gates at Churchill Downs are outfitted with high-quality foam padding from Best PadTM, a leading innovator of safety products for the horse racing industry that protect both jockeys and horses from injury. This seamless padding is applied to all metal surfaces of the starting gate, including front and rear poles, face plates, handrails, superstructure, and pontoons.

"It has been great working with the Churchill Downs team," said Steriline Racing CEO John Fargher. "They wanted to see one of our larger gates in action, so we traveled to the UK, where every single starting gate in that country has been manufactured by Steriline. York Racecourse has a 22-stall Steriline gate so this was the obvious location to demonstrate their dependability and reliability. We are excited to be a part of the most famous race in all of America."

Steriline Racing's racetrack equipment is used by many major horse racing organizations such as the Hong Kong Jockey Club at Happy Valley and Sha Tin Racecourses, Victoria Racing Club at Flemington Racecourse, Australian Turf Club at Royal Randwick Racecourse, Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, and Royal Ascot in England.

    

Meredith Daugherty contributed to this story.