Veteran Race Starter Always Leads the Pack : Racing: The horsepower on other end of Los Alamitos gates is from John Wilson’s Cadillac. And when meet’s over--he’s off!

As his trusty driver steers him onto the race track, John Wilson pulls a knob in the back seat of his 1971 Cadillac to unfold the iron start gates on either side of his car.

Nine horses come trotting toward him, each straining to get close to the rungs of the gate. He leads them slowly around the track at first, then faster, until the horses are thundering just inches from the fender. Just as it seems the horses are about to come crashing through the car, Wilson pulls the gate away while the driver punches the gas and veers off to the side just in the nick of time.

Although it might seem like an exciting job to some people, to Wilson it’s like, well, falling off a horse.

“I was practically born on the track,” Wilson, 42, said. “Some fellas went out on the football field, I always hung out on the race course. It was a family thing.” Except for a stint in the Navy during the Vietnam War, working with horses is the only job Wilson has ever known. His father, now 86, was a Michigan race horse trainer and had always hoped his son would follow in his footsteps. And Wilson did. By age 16, he was riding race horses professionally and later worked every job from shoeing horses to judging races.

Six years ago, he discovered the excitement of the starter’s seat while working at a race track in Macao, a tiny island off the coast of China. His own job there as a horse trainer was ending and the track’s starter had decided to leave, so Wilson decided to take the vacant job.

“It was either that or leave China,” said Wilson, who ended up staying in Macao for nearly five years and marrying the track secretary, Eli Wai In.

Wilson returned to the United States about a year ago. He earned his starter’s licenses from state and federal racing authorities and came to Orange County in August for the start of the racing season at Los Alamitos.

Although Wilson is new to the Los Alamitos track, in his career he’s “seen everything” from record-breaking sprints by thoroughbreds to multihorse pileups around the last stretch .

“Being around horses has made it easier. At least I can usually spot a horse that’s going a little crazy or silly,” Wilson said.

Part of Wilson’s job is to spot these mishaps. If a horse breaks equipment or gains an unfair advantage during the quarter-mile lead-in, Wilson has the authority to restart the race.

“(Restarts) are not easy; the horses get hotter, are harder to handle. I have good nights and bad nights,” Wilson said. “Whatever decision you make, you have to stand by it. And once you call it, it’s already done, you can’t ponder. If you’re still having problems after a thousand races, it’s time to find another job.”

Wilson estimates that he has started more than 10,000 races, but even he still has to keep on his toes.

“If a start could be better, I work it out. A good start is important, I take it seriously,” said Wilson, who with his V-8-powered Cadillac and good sense of speed has a reputation as a fast starter.

And although the pay is good, life as a starter is not always easy. He lives with his wife and newborn son in Anaheim, but when the season at Los Al ends Oct. 20, his next job could be as close as the Pomona Fairgrounds or as far away as Hong Kong. And starting 10 and sometimes 12 heats a night can be wearing, even with the best seat in the house.

“You have to put this job behind you when you get home, because the next day you just have to get up and do it all over again,” he said. “It’s not dangerous, but there’s a lot of pressure.”