Vanderbilt Cup Races

Over 250 people attended the Unveiling event named StatueFEST.. Franklin Hill Perrell, Executive Director of the Roslyn Landmark Society was the master of the ceremony.

The "Godmother" of the Mackay Horse Statue Town Clerk Leslie Gross and the "Godfather"- the Town Historian.

Here, I am showing the lucky horseshoe that was found at the base of the horse statue. Amazing, but true.

The Mackay Horse Statue unveiled.

Confetti added color to the unveiling.

Particpants in the ceremony.

Several members of the Mackay family participated in the event and assited in the countdown.

Late in the evening, the statue was still being admired.

Clarence Mackay

Clarence Mackay (1874-1938) was the heir to the Comstock silver fortune and was a major figure in the development of the international telegraph business. A resident of Roslyn, Mackay was involved in many of the major social and sporting events held on Long Island.

Following the conclusion of the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race, William K. Vanderbilt Jr. was asked to address his friends and race officials at the Westbury grandstand.

Clarence Mackay was seen in the middle between William K. Vanderbilt, Jr. (left) and Vanderbilt Race Commission Chairman Jefferson De Mont Thompson (right).

As listed in the 1906 prospectus, Clarence Mackay was an original director/incorporator of the Long Island Motor Parkway.

Mackay's Harbor Hill 648-acre estate in Roslyn (now East Hills) was one of the largest on Long Island with formal gardens and terraces surrounding the main house designed by Stanford White. This 1920 aerial captured the west garden of the estate nearing completion.

The west gardens featured two 25-foot statue/pedestals of horses and their groomsmen.

Mackay's statues were modeled after sculptures commissioned  in 1739 by King Louis XV of France for his royal palace, Chateau de Marly. 

The Harbor Hill mansion was demolished to make way for new homes and the north statue was relocated to the front of Roslyn High School. The south statue remained in its original position for nearly a century in what eventually became the backyard of an East Hill’s home.

When the home was sold in 2010, the statue was donated to the Town of North Hempstead with Roslyn Landmark Society designated to supervise its restoration and relocation. to Gerry Park. 

Last Friday, restoration of the original 13 1/2-foot pedestal for the statue was completed on Main Street in Roslyn.

On Saturday, October 19, 2013,  the statue was uncovered. I had the honor of coordinating this historic unveiling.

Film "The History of the Mackay Horse Statues" (8 Minutes)