Kentucky Derby Museum explains history of the starting gate for the Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- There are some iconic staples to the Kentucky Derby, like loading the horses into the starting gate. But that process wasn't always what people know today.

"It really changed the game when the electric starting gate was introduced to Churchill Downs in 1940," said Rachel Collier, director of communications at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

"Before that, wow, it was totally different in the early days, 1875 and into early 1900s. We had the beat of a drum, (that's) what got a race started. So they would draw a line in the dirt and the sand, and that's where the horses would line up. And then someone would bang on a drum, and another person would drop a flag, and that's how horses started the race."

Now, the Derby Museum has a starting gate on display in an exhibit upstairs that was used in 17 Derby races.

"We are used to seeing the green starting gates rolling out on Kentucky Derby day, and the gates close with the horses" Collier said. "We watch them getting loaded in, that bell rings, the gates open, and they're off."