I read that the starter was a replacement for the normal one who was sick, and that this guy once kept a field of horses for an hour before the race went off. They were just behind the barrier constantly messing up the line, I guess.
I have someone I'll ask about some of the things like the start and Upset to find out what's apocryphal. I don't know about the 20 lengths, but supposedly they knew MOW could wind himself up if they banged into him so they tried to burn his energy at the beginning. His neighbors at the barrier were misbehaving on purpose.
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