Scott Jordan became NYRA's head starter in May, having spent two decades in the same job at Churchill Downs. He started this year's Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.

When Jordan decides it is time, and only when Jordan decides, he presses the button to drop the gates and start the Kentucky Derby. It’s 7 a.m. on a warm but cloudy Wednesday morning.

Jordan’s team of 26 horsemen only has 120 seconds to load 20 Kentucky Derby contenders into the starting gate at Churchill Downs, the storied racetrack where the Run for the Roses is held each year.