assistant starter

Bob Duncan, whose career spans better than 50 years at the tracks of the New York Racing Association (NYRA), will be honored with a Special Eclipse Award for Career Excellence during the Resolute Racing Eclipse Award ceremonies at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, on Thursday, Jan. 22. The award recognizes Duncan's horsemanship and his work to foster the human-equine relationship at the starting gate. Duncan, who grew up in Elmont, NY, began working at the NYRA tracks in 1967-1968 and returned from a stint in the U.S. Army in...

Caleb Hays, interim starter at Churchill Downs during the Spring Meet, will move into the role of head starter at the Louisville oval as well as at Turfway Park,  while Todd Stephens, after more than 25 years at Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows, has been named head starter at Ellis Park. Churchill Downs owns all three Kentucky tracks. Hays has been on the gate crew for 17 years at Churchill after getting his start at River Downs. He is the son of the late former assistant starter Danton "Danny"...

James (Jimmy) Tsitsiragos, a longtime assistant starter at the New York Racing Association, passed away Tuesday, Feb. 16 at the age of 71. Born Aug. 6, 1949 in Leonia, New Jersey, Tsitsiragos graduated from Leonia High School in 1967 where he was a beloved football legend nicknamed by his classmates as "Zorba the Greek." He then attended Texas A&M University as a walk-on for the football team and quickly earned a full scholarship under Head Coach Gene Stallings. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1972, he...

An assistant starter at Zia Park has been ruled off by the track's stewards for six months for slapping a filly in the head four times while the animal was locked in the gate prior to a race going off. Ramon Alvarez has not appealed the ban, which went into effect Nov. 2 and runs through May 1, 2021, according to Izzy Trejo, the executive director of the New Mexico Racing Commission. The abuse took place Oct. 20 during a mixed-meet card of Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses at Zia. Alvarez...