LaRue and his dozen or so starters work together like a machine. "I may be in charge out here, but I don't look at it that way. I am one of the boys. I don't like the 'boss' label."
The 41-year-old LaRue, from Henderson, Kentucky, gave me the unique opportunity to follow him on July 4th, the day Funny Cide came to Finger Lakes.
When asked about dealing with Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide, LaRue said, "There's no difference in the handling of him. That race (The $100,000 Wadsworth Memorial) won't be handled any different than a $4,000 claiming race. We have to do exactly the same thing every race. But it's a great day for us," glancing at the jam-packed grandstands, a rarity in horse racing these days.
LaRue, who started his racing career as an assistant starter at Beulah Park near Cleveland in 1981, has started races at the Fairgrounds in New Orleans, many Kentucky tracks and Aqueduct during his career.
There's no specific course to take to become a starter or assistant starter, but you need to be licensed. A knowledge of horses is a must.
He prepares for the day's racing action by pulling up on his computer all the horses with their starting positions in the gate, checks to see who has had problems in the starting gate in the past and assigns a horse to every assistant starter. The assistants are also notified of any special needs of a horse or behavioral problems.
"It's my behavioral book," said LaRue with a smile as he glanced down on his papers depicting the second race field. "It shows me what they have done in the past, not necessarily what they are going to do now."
Since the starting gate is on the backside, LaRue is looking for a red light atop the grandstand which tells him it's post-time and to start the loading process.
The horses come behind the starting gate and are loaded by the assistant starters, who wear flack jackets, steel toe boots and work gloves. The thoroughbreds, with jockeys on board, are locked in a tight seven-foot by three-foot padded stall with the assistant starters holding them by the reins in the gate while standing on a metal ledge no more than six-inches wide.
This are where most injuries occur according to LaRue. "Trying to keep a 1,200-pound horse still is tough. They throw their heads around, go side to side or rear. It can leave some nasty bruises on your arms, hands and especially your legs. You want to protect to the horse, jockey and yourself."
David Green, an assistant starter for more than 10 years, said before his horse arrived for the race, "Horses seem to behave better in the colder weather than in hot weather." Just another variable in being an assistant starter.
Watching with a keen eye the warm-ups on the backstretch and the loading of the horses in the gate is track veterinarian Dr. Margaret Ohlinger.
"I am looking to see if a horse is warming up correctly," Dr. Ohlinger said. "You can tell if they are moving funny, bleeding, or have an uneven gait. Also, jockeys can tell me if something isn't right. They are all professionals and know if something isn't right. If it isn't, I can call the stewards and order the horse scratched from the race."
If an incident happens in the starting gate, Dr. Ohlinger checks out the horse for injuries and determines if the horse can race. LaRue can also call the stewards if a behavioral problem occurs at the gate which can lead to a scratch.
LaRue looks for two things in order to start a race. First he sees assistant starter Mark Nicholls load his horse. "No matter what size field the race is, Mark Nicholls loads the last horse. That's when I know all the horses are in.," he said. The word "lockdown" is then yelled and the field is in the hands, or should I say, thumb, of LaRue.
Standing about 10 yards in front of the starting gate, LaRue has a good view of the full starting gate. "I am looking for no movement. I want everything still in there and when I do, I press the button to open the gates. I can't wait too long because the attention span of a horse is very short."
While the race is going on, LaRue and company gets ready to move the starting gate as the next race is a 1-1/16 mile event which means the starting gate must be moved to in front of the grandstand.
It's about 25 minutes in between races. LaRue takes his golf cart to his backstretch office and enters into his computer any behavior problems from the previous race. Meanwhile, the assistant starters pile onto a pick-up truck or starting gate and head to the next starting location.
When asked what his assistant starters are doing during this down time since the gate is in place for the next race, he said laughing, "They are either talking to friends on the front stretch or looking at all the pretty women."
It was a great Fourth of July at Finger Lakes. The overflow crowd saw Funny Cide win the Wadsworth Stakes and probably not many of the 11,400 fans even noticed the flawless but dangerous work of LaRue and his starting gate crew.
It's a day they'll take anytime.
Photo credit: Tom Cooley Photography
