starting gate

The New York Islanders are looking down at the rest of the East division despite stumbling out of the starting gate.
The New York Islanders surged to top of the East and are suddenly looking dominant|Neil Greenberg|March 12, 2021|Washington Post
Running shoes will become more comfortable over time, but they should fit properly right out of the starting gate.
Best running shoes for men: Five things to consider|Eric Alt|December 9, 2020|Popular-Science
The U.S. military is finally starting to train Iraqi troops to fight ISIS in restive Anbar province.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’|Nancy A. Youssef|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The memoir follows Oswalt from 1995 to 1999 as he was starting out on his comedy career in Los Angeles.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Starting under Theodore Roosevelt and Howard Taft, embassies headed by career diplomats increased in number.
U.S. Embassies Have Always Been for Sale|William O’Connor|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
If the ball goes off the screen, it teleports back to the starting position.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“I sense that mobile games are starting to shed their skin, getting rid of all the dead things they carry around,” he says.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“But the laws of Poloeland and those of Flatland are different,” said Amalatok, starting another objection.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
But,” said the prime minister of Flatland, starting a difficulty, “who is to be greatest chief?
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
We have said it had been lightly laden at starting, which was the reason of the tremendous pace at which it travelled.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
Yet he feared to meet her eyes, and was glad of a saluting sepoy who swaggered jauntily past the open gate.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
At once the sepoys at the Kashmir Gate fired a volley at the nearest officers, of whom three fell dead.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for starting gate

starting gate

noun

a movable barrier so placed on the starting line of a racecourse that the raising of it releases all the contestants simultaneously

the US name for starting stalls

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012