Those who follow the racing at Yonkers Raceway on a daily basis may have noticed the new starting gate rolled out when the 2023 meet began on January 16. The new equipment was added to increase the chances of outside horses (posts seven and eight) and create a fairer playing field for all starters in a race. The new gate is slanted to favor outside horses, with an eight-foot differential from posts one to eight, as opposed to the previously used two-foot gate. In theory, outside horses would be able to more easily leave for position since they will be starting ahead of the inside horses when the wings of the gate are closed. In reality, the results have been far from desirable. "I like the idea of trying something to make handle better but so far it hasn't made an overwhelming difference," said Jordan Stratton, one of the top drivers at the Westchester County oval. Albeit from a small sample size of just 70 races, outside posts have struggled mightily while the inside of the gate has dominated. From 182 starters, posts six through eight have won a measly five times (2.7%). In contrast, posts one through three have accumulated 43 wins from 210 starts (20.4%). [EDITOR'S NOTE: The night after this was written three horses won from posts six to eight to increase the win percentage to 3.9%] In comparison, 2022 saw the inside three posts win at a 16.3% rate while posts six through eight scored at a 6.4% clip. Interestingly, the in-the-money (finishing first through third) rate of the outside posts has only dropped from 20.9% in 2022 to 17.5% thus far in 2023. "Before you could get off the rail a little flat-footed. With the wings slanted the inside horses seem to be staying on the gate pretty well," said Yonkers 2022 leading driver Jason Bartlett, who added that you have to be a bit more careful with the trotters from the inside. Both Stratton and Bartlett felt posts four and five (15.8% win rate) have a decided advantage now when it comes to leaving fast off the gate, but they didn't feel the situation was noticeably better for the outside starters. Bartlett would know best about the outside posts since he has left from the seven- and eight-hole a colony-leading six times since the change occurred, making the front three times and winning three of those races. "If the four or five leave they are ahead of the inside horses and they can stop the seven or the eight who is leaving pretty easily," said Stratton. From the get-go, Standardbred Owners Association of New York President Joe Faraldo said that there would be some trial and error involved to get the right starting point and timing down in order for it to have the optimum effect. Bartlett saw some of that change in this second week of operations that started January 23. "They are still tinkering with it because it wasn't working like they thought," said Bartlett. "They are adjusting the speed of the gate and where they let us go. On Monday [1/23] they were letting us off a little later and going slower through the turn before accelerating in the stretch." ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter From the naked eye the problem is clear. When horses from the outside leave hard off the gate they simply are not getting away fast enough to out-sprint the inside horses. Driver Yannick Gingras, one of the others along with Bartlett who have tried often to leave from outside posts this year, thought the gate offered a little bit of an advantage but felt the key to making it succeed was speed. "The problem is the same as most tracks, and I've been saying it for years. Nothing will ever change until they slow the gate down and have all of the horses' noses on the gate 100 feet before the start," said Gingras. "In the past you could see some horses snap off the gate because they could accelerate fast. Now we are going full speed once the gate opens, and that's why you can't really see horses out-leaving others." Gingras's theory is that all horses in the same classes can go a similar top speed for at least a short period of time. If the starting car is already at the horses' top speed when they are released, even a horse with quick acceleration can't gain a large advantage on others looking to show early speed. However, if the gate was going a few MPH slower, a horse with a quick turn of speed off the gate could get a decided advantage on the field. Another factor in the early post returns could be that the favorites are winning at a 54.29% rate so far in 2023, up from 47.02% last year. It is possible that through just 70 races the sharpest and most logical horses have simply drawn better. Of course, the inside horses are always bet with more fervor than those on the outside of the gate, so maybe the new equipment is simply helping them win at a higher percentage. Yes, there are always two sides of the coin. Stratton brought up the fact that winter racing is typically different than during the summer and that the numbers could change down the road. "It is hard for horses to take air [race first-over in the second lane] here in general but it is even worse during the winter. In the summer months a horse can live on the outside a bit longer," said Stratton. It is always worth applauding the willingness to make change and introducing the slanted starting gate to Yonkers Raceway was certainly well-intentioned. Whether it will produce better returns from horses stuck in outside posts seems unlikely at this point. But if the track and SOA of NY remain open to change, maybe the early returns won't be equal to the final result.