In horse racing, a chute is an extended path increasing the length of a straight portion of a racecourse, particularly an oval-shaped one, allowing races of a specified distance to start at a location other than on one of the turns. For example, many racetracks in the United States are exactly in circumference; often such racetracks are symmetrical ovals, with both straightaways and both turns being precisely of a mile. Frequently, the finish line will be positioned exactly three-quarters of the way down the stretch; in that case, the point at which the first or "clubhouse" turn joins to the backstretch would be 5 furlongs from the finish. In order to hold races at the distance of - the most common distance of American thoroughbred horse races - the backstretch is extended by an extra 1/16 of a mile. This is the most common situation where a chute is pressed into service. At some tracks, this chute is longer, so that races can be run at as well. Often a second chute will be placed at the top of the stretch, extending the length of the straightaway from the top of the stretch to the finish line from 3/16ths of a mile to, thus allowing races to be run, and also make it possible for quarter horses to run races at distances of up to. At two tracks, Hialeah Park and Turf Paradise, the chute that begins at the top of the stretch is even longer, so that there is a distance of from the beginning of the chute to the wire; so-called "baby races," or races for 2-year-olds run very early in the year, are started from this position. Many one-mile tracks have a turf course inside of the main track, most commonly measuring. This turf course will often be equipped with a chute of its own, extending diagonally from the stretch, to permit turf races to be run at the distance of. This diagonal chute can either consist of a more-or-less straight line, or may curve significantly, in a counterclockwise direction. In 2006 two tracks — Monmouth Park and Hollywood Park Racetrack — added a chute extending diagonally from the backstretch, to permit races at furlongs and 6 furlongs, respectively. Some American racetracks have circumferences of more than ; examples include Aqueduct, Arlington Park, Hollywood Park Racetrack and Saratoga, all of which are tracks, and Belmont Park, the country's largest track, with a circumference. The backstretch chutes at Aqueduct and Arlington Park are long enough to permit races to be run at, while Saratoga's chute is shorter, extending only to. Hollywood's chute formerly allowed races, but when its finish line was moved forward in the late 1980s races could no longer be accommodated, and became the longest distance that could be run out of its chute. At Belmont, the chute permits races at distances up to to be run. Belmont's outer turf course also contains two chutes which separate from the beginning of the backstretch at an angle; races at distances of and are started from these chutes. Rarely, a "half-chute" will be employed; in this instance, the chute will branch off from a turn, usually the clubhouse turn, at the midway point of the turn, and extend to a position level with that of the homestretch, the chute thus joining to the turn at a 90-degree angle. Currently only one racetrack of note in the United States — Ellis Park Racecourse in Kentucky — makes use of such a chute, starting races from it at the distance of one mile. Formerly, Saratoga also had such a chute; it was known as the "Wilson Mile" chute, and like the one found at Ellis Park, it was used to start races. Use of the Wilson Mile chute was suspended in 1972; after being reinstated briefly in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the chute itself was dismantled, and as a result, it is now no longer possible to run main-track races at Saratoga at any distance longer than but shorter than. The "all-weather" track at England's Wolverhampton Racecourse has a similar chute, but it is used for 7-furlong races as the latter is a one-mile track. The one-mile dirt oval at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Florida also once had a similar chute which permitted races at 7 furlongs; however, this chute extended diagonally from the backstretch and not on a 90-degree angle. In 2004 Tampa Bay Downs' backstretch chute was lengthened to 7 furlongs, whereupon the diagonal chute was decommissioned; however, remnants of it are still intact. Laurel Park in Maryland also formerly had a diagonal chute, which allowed for races at up to 1 miles. Perhaps America's most distinctive horse racing chute is the El Camino Real Chute, located at Santa Anita. Added in 1953, this is a downhill turf chute consisting of a straight section, a right turn, another straight section, and a long, sweeping left turn, before finally crossing over the dirt course and joining the turf oval. The chute was modeled to give the appearance of a European-type course. Grass sprints at about 6 furlongs, as well as the marathon distance of about 1 miles, utilize the full length of the ElCamino Real Chute. Turf races at 1 miles and 1 miles also start from various points within the chute, and races at 1 miles start directly on the dirt crossover. At 1 miles and longer, the horses are then required to go once around Santa Anita's turf oval, which is somewhat larger and narrower than most turf courses situated inside one-mile dirt tracks.
