26 inches wide. 98 inches long. A 3-inch ledge to stand on with a 1,200-pound Thoroughbred beside you.

For a jockey, few people matter more in those final moments before a race than the gate handler standing alongside you.

In this episode of The Boundless Podcast, Ferrin Peterson sits down with Bob Duncan, a legendary starting-gate handler whose career has spanned decades, champion racehorses, and racetracks around the world.

Bob takes us inside the starting gate: the risks gate handlers accept every day, the trust they build with each horse, and why a place most people would find intimidating became a haven for him. He shares stories from his childhood at Belmont Park, the mentors who shaped him, and the horses who taught him some of the most important lessons of his life.

But this conversation goes far b ...