Churchill Downs announces new 20-position starting gate

Thank heavens Churchill Downs are finally replacing that horrible Kentucky Derby starting gate that has been causing so many problems. Why these folks are so slow in correcting this disastrous decision is beyond us. They should care more about the horses and even the history of the race itself if they are going to continue running the damn thing.

Take a look. Even with a wide angle lens it is nigh impossible to fit it in a single frame with any detail, but you get the picture.

This is what the new 20 horse gate will look like for the Kentucky Derby beginning 2020. Image via Steriline who design and construct starting stalls for racing.

Here’s how local Louisville television news station WDRB explains the new gate:

Churchill Downs announced on Monday that it has entered into an agreement with an Australian company to construct a 20-horse gate for exclusive use in the Kentucky Derby.

The Derby has been run using a traditional 14-position starting gate, plus a four-position auxiliary gate for each of the past 22 years and 54 times total since being first used in 1942.

The new gate from Steriline Racing will go into use in this year’s Derby, and ensures a uniform start for the largest field in American racing.

Caring about the horses is not exactly a #1 priority in US horse racing is it? It’s all “take” and bottom line. Horrible, and deadly for the horses and jockeys.

Greed rules.

Place your bet on this

We hear you can bet overseas now on not if — but when US horse racing will go belly up . . . in 1 year, 2 years, 5 years or 10 years.

Vivian asked her husband to put a couple of quid on five years’ time. He backed two years’ time. He never could back a winner.

Mr. Farrell is probably right in terms of public interest, but it’s not likely to totally shut down in two years’ time. However it may well be “life support” by then.

What’s your wager?

Video

Just about everyone who lives in a horse racing nation has heard of and knows something about the Kentucky Derby. ESPN has an excellent video called “Deconstructing the Fastest Two Minutes in Sport”. It will give you an idea just how outrageous the race has become.

View it here:
http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/19327204/deconstructing-fastest-two-minutes-sports

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FEATURED IMAGE: Horses break out of the starting gate at Churchill Downs in 2012. Horse owners say luck plays an outsized role in fielding a winner after all other factors are accounted for. Credit: Matt Slocum / Associated Press.

Updated: 5:54 am US EST.