In this week's edition of Rewind, Robert Smith recalls that the year 2026 is the 80th "birthday" of the mobile starting gate. This mechanical contrivance is credited with not only saving the sport of harness racing but also allowing it to become a major league sport. While there will not likely be any parties or celebrations, the calendar tells us that it has been around for that long.
Steve G. Phillips posed on the back of the first mobile starting gate. His son Charles Phillips is driving in this vintage photo. The original caption read, "The First Mobile Starting Gate, July 1937, North Randall, Cleveland, Ohio. Conceived and built by Steven G. Phillips, Xenia, Ohio."
In the very early days of harness racing as a sport presented to sizable audiences, it had one glaring problem that plagued it for many decades. The starts of so many races were erratic, chaotic and disorganized. Fans often booed the participants, as races were often delayed by countless recalls and controversies.
The drivers and horses were expected to line up in an orderly fashion and, above all, listen to the starter's verbal instructions. The main rule was that no horse was to go ahead of the "pole" horse before the word "GO" was issued. While the system was designed to work, it very often did not.
It has been stated that many racing fans stayed away from attending races because of the constant problems that were so often incurred time after time. Many observers believed that there had to be a solution, but what was it? By the late 1930s, it became evident that help was on the way. A gentleman named Steve Phillips from Xenia, Ohio, is generally credited with getting the problem solved.
Steve Phillips (right) and son Charles Phillips are shown looking out at the track, with the Roosevelt grandstand visible in the background. Steve introduced the mobile gate to harness racing.
He was the son of a noted horseman and had served as a starter in the old system. The story is told that he was in Lexington in 1937 and a motion picture crew was on the grounds shooting horse scenes. The director mounted a camera on the back of a car, as he wanted a shot of horses trotting toward the camera. Because of his familiarity with the horses and drivers, Phillips was asked to ride along and instruct the drivers. From this scenario came a moment of brilliance.
As Phillips watched the horses nose up to the car and trot along in a perfect line, the thought struck him that this might be the answer to the starting problem. That winter, back in Central Ohio, he started to put his idea into action by mounting two steel arms on the back of a pickup truck. He tried it, and it worked. His idea remained a dream for some time, as it seemed that nobody in harness racing was willing to invest money in such a harebrained scheme as his in those lean days.
On May 24, 1946, not long after WWII, Steve Phillips' mobile starting gate was introduced to the crowds at Roosevelt Raceway. The gate was an instant hit, and the track's popularity grew immensely from that point on.
Above is starter Steve Phillips, an Ohio native and the man credited with inventing and perfecting the modern-day starting gate. His first gate was mounted on a 1930 Ford chassis, which he took to North Randall, Ohio, in the 1930s, but Grand Circuit officials refused to allow him to use it on race days. His attempts persisted, and in 1946 he convinced officials at the then fairly new Roosevelt Raceway to try his gate. This one, on a Chrysler car, reportedly became an immediate success. In fact, some say it took just one race to convince Mr. Levy. Acclaimed as the best starter ever in his 50-year career, Phillips operated it for many years at both Roosevelt and Yonkers, retiring in the mid-1960s. This gentleman always wore a shirt and tie and reportedly never the same one two days in a row. (Roosevelt Raceway archives)
In the very early days of Rewind a column was dedicated to the coming of the starting gate and included a personal recollection of mine. It read as follows:
"As a young boy of 10 or 12 back in the mid-1950s, I experienced a thrill that none of my friends or classmates had ever experienced. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of those things you get up in front of your Grade 5 class and brag about. The problem was that probably no one would know what you were talking about and, furthermore, and perhaps worse, no one would even care!
During the summer months, while attending the afternoon races with my father in the small town of Leamington, I had actually been lucky enough to get a ride in the starting gate. My Dad was a friend of the gate's operator, and when he asked if I'd like a ride, I was all smiles."
I still remember it well.
STARTING GATE PHOTO GALLERY
The following pictures, collected over the years, show the many shapes and sizes that mobile starting gates have taken down through the years.
This vintage photo shows an early version of the then-new starting gate in Italy. Growing up, a good friend of mine had a 1940 Ford; it was the envy of many at our school and looked a lot like the one above.
This photo was taken at Wallacetown, Ont., in 1947, owned and operated by Tom McDonnell of Hamilton. That was the year that the starting gate made its first appearance at Ontario tracks. A few months prior to this photo, Mr. McDonnell became the first person to use a gate at the Sarnia track on May 24, 1947.
Maritime tracks were among the very early users of the mobile gate, as shown here. Many gates were mounted on early 1950s-model Chevrolet pickups.
Art Whitesell, an automobile dealer from Tillsonburg, Ont., was a pioneer in Ontario racing circles. His first gate appeared at Grand Valley on Labour Day weekend in 1947. Pictured above is Mr. Whitesell in a 1960s version, one of many he owned and operated over a very lengthy career.
Here is a great old shot of an early gate operated by Lee Wright of Elmvale. This was taken at Orr Lake, Ontario, at a track built by Pat Crowe's father, Clarence Crowe. The year was 1949.
A rather large Sunday afternoon crowd watches the start of a race at the Orangeville track in the early 1970s.
Here is a great old photo taken at Sydney, N.S., as the newly built track celebrated its opening and honoured veterans returning from WWII in 1945.
Where would we be without the starting gate?
Quote For The Week: "Beautiful young people are works of nature; beautiful old people are works of art."
Who Is It?
Can you identify this fellow who was involved with starting gates for many years?
Name This Truck
For many years, TV viewers watched Mister Ed, a show all about a "talking horse." Shown above is the truck and trailer that transported him from place to place. Can you correctly identify the make of vehicle doing the towing of the trailer?
(The correct answers will be posted here by Robert as a comment in a few days.)