Cross Breeds

In race horse derby, in the beginning, why are race horses lead up with non-race horses to the starting gate?

I am doing research, and would like to know, why they are lead up to the starting gate with another a horse that is not racing in the derby. Thanks in advanced

Public Comments

1. These horses accompany every horse in every race, not just the Derby. They are sometimes referred to as "Pony Horses", or "Outrider horses". They lead the race horses to the gate to make sure they do not get away, or find trouble along the way. They help to make sure the horses get to the gate safely. Their jobs are very important, and the horses that do this are owned by the people who ride them. They are also there to go get a horse who has broken loose and is running around the track. Our 2003 Kentucky Derby Winner "Funny Cide" is now a pony horse and loves his job.
2. Race horses are very young, energetic animals. They know when they are about to race, so they often become kind of nervous and can be difficult to control. In the old days, the jockeys would take the horses to the gate without the lead ponies, but it was discovered that lead ponies could be useful to calm the race horses and because the pony rider could help the jockey control the racehorse... if a jockey happens to fall off, the pony rider would have control of the racehorse until the jockey could get back on. It's simply more organized to have racehorses led to the gate by lead ponies. Some horses don't use a lead pony... some horses don't get along with other horses and some horses need a strong gallop without a lead pony to get ready for the race. But for the most part, the ponies take the racehorses to the gate. As an added bit of information, some lead ponies are former racehorses who were happy at the racetrack and calm enough to do the new job successfully. However, most lead ponies that you see in the afternoon are not former racehorses... they're not even thoroughbreds... many of them are paints or quarter horses. Although Funny Cide was a lead pony for a while after retiring from racing, he now lives at the Kentucky Horse Park in their Hall of Champions where he is visited by many horse-lovers every day.
3. They do it so that the horses don't get out of control.