Starting gate
A commonly used starting system for horse races was devised in the mid nineteenth century by Admiral Rous, a steward of the Jockey Club and public handicapper.
An impetus for his invention was a £5 fine received by his son, Reuben, a jockey, for allowing his mount to step over the white chalk line that marked the start.
Gray's prototype consisted of a single strand of wire at about the height of the horse's head that was attached to a spring at either end.
Versions of barriers designed by Alexander and Reuben Gray were installed at race tracks in Australia and overseas between 1894 and about 1932.
By the 1920s the single strand barrier had evolved into a spring-powered five-strand device designed by Johnstone and Gleeson, but based on Gray's prototype, that resembled a strongman's chest expander.
The inventor of the electric starting gate for horse racing is Clay Puett, who was a rider and starter at various tracks in the American West.
"We believe this new gate will improve safety for both horses and riders," said Mike Ziegler, Executive Director of Racing for Churchill Downs.
The gates are suspended from an overhead welded steel truss, supported at each end by wheels with pneumatic tires.
When the starter is satisfied that all horses are in place and ready to start the race, he presses a button, cutting the electric current, simultaneously opening the front stall doors, ringing a loud bell, and sending a signal to the totalizator system that the race is begun and no more bets should be accepted.
Clay Puett began another company, True Center Gate, in 1958 based in Phoenix, Arizona.
This device consists of a car or pickup truck equipped with a hinged gate that resembles metal "wings" on each side of the vehicle.
When the gate reaches the starting line, the starter retracts the wings, which fold inward toward the vehicle body.
The modern starting gate uses a driver for steering the vehicle while the starter sits in the rear to concentrate on the actual horses positioning during the "score up".
Unlike horse racing, this action does not signal the totalizator system to end betting; that is done instead by a steward just before the lure is sent on its way.
