It’s clear why this pair has stuck together for nearly four decades.
The mutual respect between Dave Nicholson and Charlie Ramsay is immediately obvious on this late January afternoon at Lord Beaverbrook Rink (where Nicholson, a New Brunswick Hall of Fame hockey player, has worked for 29 years). The two are chatting effortlessly. They defer to each other frequently and often nod in agreement.
Nicholson took over the starter’s duties at Exhibition Park Raceway from his father Roy, now deceased, in 1973. He joined driver Ramsay, who retired in 1996 from a 43-year auto service career, and who had driven the gate with Dave’s father for a decade. Not only do they have impressive longevity as a starter-driver team, the knowledge and expertise these two possess bring them high regard from horsemen and officials alike.
“They do a fantastic job and have the respect of everybody,” smiles senior judge Bob McDevitt, an officiating veteran. “They are fixtures at EPR. They know what they are doing and they do it in all kinds of weather.”
“They’ve worked as a team for a long time and that experience really pays off,” agrees his colleague, Bob Wallace. “I don’t think I have heard any horsemen say anything negative about them.”
Like so many horsemen, both Saint John native Nicholson and Ontario-born Ramsay got their first taste of racing through their fathers.
“I’ve been going to the races since I was four or five,” Nicholson shrugs. “Dad was from P.E.I. and always went home to Old Home Week. Then I started going to the races here. Dad was patrol judge, then associate judge, and then starter.” Nicholson worked briefly as a groom and second trainer, first for the late James ‘Roach’ MacGregor and later for Bobby Stevenson, before landing in the starting gate.
Ramsay, a native of Pembroke, Ont., recalls that his dad took him to the races in his hometown as a child, on weekends and for matinees. But while Nicholson followed his father into the starting business, Ramsay fell into it by accident. His employer, the late R.M. Lawson (who was on the board of directors of the Exhibition Association that operated the track) asked him, out of the blue, to help out at the track. That involved riding in the cab of the starting gate to pull in one wing if the closing mechanism failed, and dragging the track between races. It wasn’t long before he was driving the gate himself, which he has now done for nearly a half-century.
Over the years, Ramsay has sat behind the wheel of three modified GMC half-tons (including the present vehicle) and a Buick Electra in the 1970s, which changed the dynamics considerably. It meant he and the starter were inside the same enclosure for the first time, making it easier to communicate. The same concept holds true for today’s vehicle, which plays a major role in the team’s performance. Good communication helps achieve consistency, which is one of the major goals of the job, says Nicholson. And judging by the showering of praise they receive, this pair is doing alright on that count.
“They’re a great team,” says O’Brien Award winner Gilles Barrieau, a driver who’s sat behind starting gates more than 14,000 times in his stellar career. “The starts are very consistent. They know their business because they’ve been around so long. They know when there’s trouble behind the gate and what to do when that happens.’’
“Their 36 years together shows,” adds Todd Trites, Atlantic Canada’s leading dash and money-winner in 2008. “It’s nice to know when you have a problem, they’re there.”
The team has a process they follow religiously for every start and which appears – along with their talent and experience – to provide the consistency for which they are lauded. Both peruse programs before each race, and when the horses line up and the gate starts to move, Nicholson constantly checks the field, watching for signs that could indicate a recall or an accident. He keeps this up until the field is released.
“Charlie has the radio and is in communication with the judges,” says Nicholson. “When he gets the signal to start the race, I indicate to the drivers to come to the gate. Charlie hears what I say to them, which makes it easier in case there are problems prior to the start. I control the speed with a hand throttle and, at a certain point in the stretch, Charlie hollers “now” – which is the signal for me to say “go”, hit the switch to close the wings and let go of the throttle. At that point, Charlie controls the accelerator as well as steering.”
“Up to when ‘go’ is given, all I do is steer,’ says Ramsay. “I’m aware when the speed changes and I listen to what he is talking about to the drivers. I know what is happening, but I never touch the gas until he says ‘go.’ “
The job is easy when everything goes right. “It’s when things go wrong that it can get interesting,” notes Nicholson.
He and Ramsay can find themselves starting in any variety of conditions -- from hard and frozen tracks to mud and slop and everything in between. “We try to talk and make it work,” says Ramsay. “If it’s a dirty, mucky track, we take the best way possible. Sometimes we will go closer to the pylons or release a little earlier, so the gate can get out of the way.”
Through all those conditions, Nicholson has absolute faith in his partner’s driving skills and experience. “Candidly,” he admits, “there’ve been lots of days that, if Charlie had not been driving, I would not be starting.” Despite great driving, there have, of course, been some nervous moments. Both recall one time when the wings didn’t close and they had to angle the gate into the outside fence to prevent a serious incident. Another time the gate careened into a fence in the first turn on a slippery day. But the gate can help just as easily -- it has oft been used as a buffer to protect downed drivers and horses in accidents, as the starters are nearly always the first responders on the scene.
Nicholson has his own memories of working under wintry conditions. Several years ago, when the gate couldn’t be used partway through a program because of deteriorating track conditions, he stood in a snow bank in the homestretch and started the fields as was done in days gone by. Then, late last year, EPR experienced problems with its own gate. It borrowed Fredericton Raceway’s starting gate, a modified truck in which the starter is exposed to the elements and which is not normally utilized in winter. The weather co-operated until late in December when freezing temperatures and snow flurries forced Nicholson to don several layers of clothing. “I looked like the Michelin Man,” he laughs.
Luckily, he’s used to being all bundled up, though in pads and a jersey rather than layers of winter clothes. Nicholson was a forward on the Saint John Mooseheads hockey team that won the 1973 Canadian Intermediate A Championship. His career was cut short, though, ending just one season later on account of a broken heel. The team, a part of the Saint John Sports Wall of Fame, was inducted into the provincial shrine last year, and is just one notation in a family history chock-full of hockey.
Outside hockey season, it’s still horse-racing that fills his days -- and both he and Ramsay believe those everyday races (even the $1500 claimers) are just as important and require the same attention to detail as the bigger, prestigious races. Though there’s no denying that those big events keep you sharp and on the ball, Ramsay points out.
You can expect to see both back on the gate when the 2009 season begins, but Ramsay is considering passing along his driver’s seat. Eventually.
“I’m getting older,” he grins.
No doubt, the horsemen, fans and officials at EPR hope the pair will remain intact for many seasons to come.
They’re a comforting sight, these two, speeding away time and time again at the touch of the throttle.