betovernetcapper
05-06-2017, 12:14 AM
Today I cashed a pic 3 at Bel in races 4-5 & 6. Given that one of the races only had 3 horses, this was not a great handicapping feat, but it got me to thinking about the Derby gate crew.
The average field size is 8 to 10 horses these days. I think the gate crew people are overlooked in the sport. It's got to be a little dangerous when a horse goes bat shit crazy at the gate. The jockey can also be hurt, but he can make big bucks while the gate crew, not so much.
So my question is if the gate crew is 10 guys or so, where do they get the other 10 to accommodate the 20 horse fields? Another question is would a horse handled by one of the extra people be at a slight disadvantage as the regular gate crew works somewhat as a team and is aware of any peculiarities of a given gate?
Totally academic question as I've been boycotting CD for years, but I'm mildly curious if anyone has any insight to the question. :)
The average field size is 8 to 10 horses these days. I think the gate crew people are overlooked in the sport. It's got to be a little dangerous when a horse goes bat shit crazy at the gate. The jockey can also be hurt, but he can make big bucks while the gate crew, not so much.
So my question is if the gate crew is 10 guys or so, where do they get the other 10 to accommodate the 20 horse fields? Another question is would a horse handled by one of the extra people be at a slight disadvantage as the regular gate crew works somewhat as a team and is aware of any peculiarities of a given gate?
Totally academic question as I've been boycotting CD for years, but I'm mildly curious if anyone has any insight to the question. :)