by James Platz

After more than four decades starting horses in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois, Mike Moss will close out his time in the car on a high note Sunday (Oct. 6) at The Red Mile. The 66-year-old Bluegrass native has served as the starter during Lexington’s two-week Grand Circuit meet, headlined by Sunday’s Kentucky Futurity.

“I’m not a bucket list guy, but I have always hoped that someday I could do the Grand Circuit races,” Moss said. “It’s exciting. I like to start good horses.”

Moss has been synonymous with the starting gate for decades. His father, Bob, purchased a starting car in the late 1970s, and Mike found himself behind the wheel as part of the family business. Before that, he was the wheel man for Layton Swinford.

“I drove the car for Mr. Swinford for a long time and then I drove for my dad,” Mike said. “I started from the ground up. Dad began as a starter the year that the fairs came back to Kentucky. He helped get the wheels rolling again to get the Kentucky fairs active.”

Driving for his disabled father, Mike learned the business of starting. When Bob surprisingly turned over the reins in Lebanon, KY, his son may have been apprehensive, but he was ready.

“I was going to help my dad get in the back of the car because, with his condition, he couldn’t just jump up in there,” Mike said. “I said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get ready for this race.’ He said, ‘I’m going to drive the car today.’ I was 21. We were at Lebanon, Kentucky. I’ll never forget it. He said, ‘You’re starting today.’ I replied, ‘I don’t have my license.’ He said, ‘Yeah you do, here they are right here.’ He had done the legwork and got my license. That’s how I learned, driving the car helping him. When I got back there it was just natural because he had taught me.”

And it has been natural ever since. When his father’s condition worsened, Mike purchased the car, and served in the role in the Bluegrass State, Hoosier State and Illinois going forward. Working in the corporate world, he relied on vacation time to map out the summer schedule.

“It was always a little bit of a challenge because my corporate work never mixed with horses,” Mike said. “I tried to keep it separated. I had enough vacation time that I could go to the fairs. The only thing that would mess me up is if we had a rainout.”

Mike maintained that schedule of balancing corporate work with starting races for 25 years. When he stepped away from his role of running a regional phone company, he added another industry position: ID technician with the USTA. He has held that position for 18 years, first covering Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. With the resurgence of racing and breeding in Kentucky, he now focuses solely on the work in his home state.

“I’m very fortunate,” he said. “With the Kentucky program going, it’s been very good to me. It gives me flexibility and I can do my starting with that.”

In the fall of 2022, Mike made the difficult decision to sell his starting car and get out of the business, focusing only on starting at The Red Mile during the summer.

“It was hard because it was something my dad and I had done for so long,” Mike said. “I did it for all those years. But it got so expensive. The insurance was crazy high. The fuel, motels, paying someone to drive, keeping up the car. It just got really, really expensive.”

Today, Mike still returns to the Indiana State Fair, this time serving as an associate judge. He said he enjoys the experience, but admits that when he held the same role at Lexington for a year, it wasn’t a good fit.

“That’s just not me,” he said. “It’s not my gift. I feel more comfortable out on the dirt with the drivers, with the trainers. If I screw up it’s on me. If they screw up, we talk about it. I’m more of a hands-on guy.”

That hands-on approach has also opened other doors. Mike began working at yearling sales representing the USTA. Now, he has parlayed that into opportunities at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, Ohio Selected Jug Sale, Harrisburg and Hoosier Classic Sale Company’s trio of auctions.

“Eight years ago, Randy Manges asked me to start looking at yearlings,” Mike said. “Bruce Brinkerhoff had gone to the USTA, and he had gone with Randy each year to look at yearlings. When I began looking at yearlings, I started working more with the sale.”

Mike now helps Brinkerhoff review yearlings in Ohio and Indiana.

With the resurgence of the Kentucky program, Mike has had the pleasure of starting some of the top horses which now compete at The Red Mile throughout the summer.

“Obviously, it’s a great place to race horses,” Mike said. “The last few years we’ve had the luxury of having dual-eligible horses come through, so it has raised the level of horses and drivers.”

Traditionally, Mike has started races at The Red Mile leading up to the Grand Circuit meet. However, during the final two weeks in Lexington, Greg Coon takes over. This year, Coon shared he was not physically up to the duties, and, with the permission of management, was tagging Mike in if he wanted the opportunity.

“Whether you are at a fair or The Red Mile, when you call the horses to the gate it’s an adrenaline rush and it’s a challenge to try to get them on gate and in position until you say go,” Mike said. “When you’re starting Timmy Tetrick, the McCarthy boys, Dexter, Dave Miller, Scott Zeron, Andy Miller and Yannick, how can that not be fun? It’s pretty cool. The Futurity is no different than a $2,000 claimer. I’m going to try to do the same job in the same way, I’m not going to change anything.”

While it is an opportunity he never expected, it will also be the perfect ending for Mike, who is stepping out of the starting car following Sunday’s races. Just as his father did for him 45 years ago, he is ready to pass the torch to the next generation, and spend more quality time at home with Lynn, his wife of 42 years.

“I’m 66,” he said. “I want to be home on the weekends. Between the starting and my ID tech job, I was gone a lot. I’m just ready to start being home more, play more golf. I’ve got grandkids. I just want to be a little more available.”

Mike has always wanted to go out on his own terms. Sunday he’ll get that chance, but not before enjoying the opportunity of a lifetime.