Canada Day - trivia for horseplayers

[banacek]

As has been mentioned in another thread Tuesday is Canada Day. If you put a couple of bucks on any races at Hastings (previously known as Exhibition Park) you might be interested to know that 75 years ago today:

Clay Puett (1899-1998) was the inventor of the enclosed electric starting gate used at all major thoroughbred race tracks around the world. On July 1, 1939, Puett's invention made its debut at Exhibition Park, Vancouver, British Columbia. It was an immediate success. By the end of 1940, Puett's gate was a fixture at all major North American race tracks.

[Greyfox]

As has been mentioned in another thread Tuesday is Canada Day. If you put a couple of bucks on any races at Hastings (previously known as Exhibition Park) you might be interested to know that 75 years ago today:

Clay Puett (1899-1998) was the inventor of the enclosed electric starting gate used at all major thoroughbred race tracks around the world. On July 1, 1939, Puett's invention made its debut at Exhibition Park, Vancouver, British Columbia. It was an immediate success. By the end of 1940, Puett's gate was a fixture at all major North American race tracks.


To my knowledge, Puett was from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Puett is dead now. But this is what he was quoted as saying in 1997:



"I was a complete failure; I couldn't get the job done," the 97-year-old Puett said of his starter job in 1928. "You had seven to eight riders and horses and they were all trying to be first, so you had no control.

"Then I decided that I would make me a piece of equipment that would let them out when I want them out."

Puett's idea would take 10 years to materialize. Until then, racers would have to settle for handlers holding horses at the start line or for netting-like barriers stretched across the track. Uneven starts were commonplace, leaving jockeys, fans and starters frustrated.

See http://articles.latimes.com/1997/aug/10/sports/sp-21127

[banacek]

According to an Sports Illustrated article he was born in Texas, eventually settled in British Columbia (bought at ranch near the city I live in), finally moved to Phoenix.

http://www.si.com/vault/1990/10/29/122937/the-man-who-gave-racing-a-fresh-start-in-1939-clay-puetts-electric-starting-gate-revolutionized-the-sport

Oh..this story disagrees with wiki :) They say it was at Landsdowne Park..a different Vancouver racetrack (now defunct)..

[thespaah]

When Meadowlands began running Thoroughbreds, the track used Puett Starting gates. I remember seeing the name on the gate itself.
If one looks at older video of races there, they will see it.
Check it out..
1984 Meadowlands Cup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ec985suKFk