Assistant Starter

Churchill Downs Incorporated•New Orleans, LA

11d•Onsite

About The Position

An Assistant Starter is a key member of the racing starting team, working directly under the Head Starter to ensure the safe, efficient, and fair start of each race. The role combines horse handling, gate operations, and support duties to maintain race quality and animal welfare.

Requirements

Must be 21 years of age and able to obtain a racing license from the Racing Commission.
Knowledge of Thoroughbred horses.
Ability to handle horses weighing in excess of 900 pounds.
Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence, and memos.
Ability to write simple correspondence.
Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one situations to customers, clients, and other employees of the organization.
Ability to deal with problems involving a few concrete variables in standardized situations.

Nice To Haves

Preferably one to two years prior experience as an Asst. Starter.

Responsibilities

Serves as a right hand for the Head Starter.
Maintain a log of all horses that come to the gate during training hours. Log how the horse is handled while being loaded in the starting gate. This is called putting "Marks" on the horse.
The Starter is assigned a horse to handle. They must load the horse to the best of their ability with the information given.
Report any problems with the horses or the gate to the Head Starter.
Handle race horses and load into the starting gate.
Maintenance of the starting gate. Such as, washing to keep clean.
Inspect batteries for any problems.
Set numbers on top of the starting gate, making sure that the number on the stall matches the number assigned to the horse being loaded into the gate.
Morning work consist of schooling horses or breaking these horses from the gate. Once a new horse is ready the Asst. Starter sends them to the Head Starter for an application for an OK card.
Have the trainer bring the horse to the gate in the mornings, continually, until the Head Starter feels the horse has overcome the problem and is taken off the Head Starter's list.
Also, working with horses that have some problems while trying to load them into the gate.
Must carry out all duties assigned to him by the Head Starter.
Performs all other duties, as assigned.