Vanderbilt Cup Races

This portion of the course was exceptionally treacherous with holes of five feet in diameter. While New York City Mayor George McClellan signed an ordinance in mid-September approving use of these roads for the race, Tammany officials were less cooperative. They refused a $2,000 offer by race promoters to make repairs, and threatened to arrest anyone attempting to do the work. 

This section had the biggest potholes, which collected a large volume of oil, mud and water.

The only time that the six Vanderbilt Cup Races (1904-1910) were held outside Nassau County was the initial race in 1904. One and a half miles of the 30-mile 1904 course were in Queens County of New York City made up of three roads: Jamaica-Hempstead Plank Road, Creed Avenue and Jericho Turnpike.

The 1904 course entered Queens on the continuation of Hempstead Turnpike in Nassau County which in this section was called the Jamaica-Hempstead Plank Road. A single-track interurban electric trolley line on the south side ran parallel to the left of this broad road, but presented no interruption.

The first turn in Queens put the drivers onto Creed Avenue, also known as Springfield Avenue, for a brief stretch serving to connect back to Jericho Turnpike. A horse-drawn ambulance from St. Mary’s Hospital was stationed on the southeast corner of the turn, opposite a tavern, ready to assist in any accident.

The course passed a large wagon building company established in 1854, John O’Connor’s Tavern and a railroad station, which also provided telegraph and telephone service.

Just before the second Queens turn from Creed Avenue onto Jericho Turnpike, drivers descended down a short hill, crossed two sets of railroad tracks then climbed another small hill to meet a very sharp right turn onto the home stretch. Motoring and Boating magazine reported 70 trains crossed the Queens intersection daily. This section was another exceptionally narrow area, and the abrupt elevation changes combined with the railroad tracks made speed judgment critical.

After making the second turn, the cars returned to Jericho Turnpike and entered 16 miles of relatively straight road back to Westbury. The road along this long stretch averaged 25 feet in width.