Tom Wagoner, 75; longtime starter for the Kentucky Derby

Tom Wagoner, 75, who as starter for the Kentucky Derby sprang open the gates at racing’s premier event for nearly a quarter of a century, died Oct. 25 in Longview, Texas, according to the Downs Funeral Home in Marshall, Texas.

Wagoner was the Derby starter from the 100th Derby in 1974 until 1997. Among the Derbys during Wagoner’s tenure were the last two whose winners went on to win the Triple Crown: Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978. No horse since then has won the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in the same year. The two champions were the only back-to-back Triple Crown winners in history.

As racing fans worldwide held their breath, Wagoner would watch horses enter the gate, make sure they all were looking down the track and then hit the button that sent the thoroughbreds hurtling into their run for the roses.

“If the heads are straight, usually the butts will follow,” Wagoner once explained.

Wagoner, a native of Paris, Ky., attended the University of Kentucky and served in the Marine Corps early in the Korean War.

Before becoming Derby starter in 1974, Wagoner had been first a trainer and then an assistant starter.