..........the horses and drivers would line up behind the gate as it drove slowly along. When the signal to go was given, the vehicle holding the gate accelerated away, tucking in the gates as it went and then slid into the corner. To me that was better than the actual race. But what also made it interesting, was that these rolling gates, were usually high end cars like Lincolns (seen immediately below) and Cadillacs (like in the bottom pic)...........
These vehicles were more than just a couple of steel arms against which to line up the horses. Note the area that has been cut out of the roof.......
.......so that the gate keeper could stand and see what was going on behind him, controlling the start. Interesting, but as I said, I really loved the way those big luxo boats would accelerate and slide into the corner as the horses raced by.
All the bigger tracks had the neatest cars........
......like this Lincoln used in southern Ontario.
Should be smooth sailing running this gate, but this was not always the case........
. Not sure what happened here, but this Lincoln is spinning as it races into the turn. Wet track or maybe the driver had money riding on the horse at the back of the line. Whatever, this was not a good thing, but if no horses were hurt, I'd have loved to be there.
Can't afford a Caddy or a Lincoln, then maybe settle for something a touch less expensive, but still in the luxury vein, like this Oldsmobile 98 convertible........
A backwoods track might have to rely on a pick-up truck, which was not nearly as interesting, but I guess anything would do, but even this small mountain venue below was using an old Caddy.......
But as time has gone by, those old luxury cars are being replaced by a fancy pick-up.........
.......although the action is the same, the visuals to me are just not as compelling. Hey, if you were a horse, which vehicle would you prefer to line up behind...........
Exactly what I thought.
Until next time........
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