The Vanderbilt Cup Races

Preparations for the 1909 Race

The 1909 Course

At 12.64 miles, the 1909 course was shorter than those for any previous Vanderbilt Cup Race and for the first time did not cross railroad tracks. The Long Island Motor Parkway made up 5.15 miles of the total distance. Organizers believed the shorter course would decrease the intervals of time between appearances of cars and also provide more exciting entertainment for spectators. The 1909 race was held on October 30th, later in autumn than any other Vanderbilt Cup Race. The race began at 9:00 AM rather than the traditional daybreak start. The late start and colder weather of the later date were cited as reasons for a precipitous decline in attendance from previous years.

Founder of Lipton Tea

Courtesy of The Helck Family Collection

Sir Thomas Lipton (center with his distinctive mustache), founder of Lipton Tea and knighted by Queen Victoria in 1898, was one of the most prominent spectators at the 1909 race. Lipton shared a passion for yachting with the Vanderbilts and competed for the America’s Cup yacht race on several occasions.

President of the Automobile Club of America

Courtesy of Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside

Dave Hennen Morris (left), president of the Automobile Club of America, donned a thick fur coat, gloves and Siberian-style cap as he approached the grandstand. Morris married Alice Vanderbilt Shepard, the sister of the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Racer Elliot Shepard Jr. and a cousin of Willie K. From 1933 to 1937, he was US Ambassador to Belgium and Envoy to Luxembourg.

The Thermos Truck

Courtesy of Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums - Cedarmere

Warm coffee was served at the 1909 race in Thermos bottles from a truck designed especially for the American Thermos Bottle Company. Insulated Thermos bottles were first manufactured in the United States in Brooklyn in 1907.

Action During the 1909 Race -->

Motor Pkwy

Building the Long Island Motor Parkway

The Motor Parkway Sweepstakes

Long Island Motor Parkway

Feature

The 128-page book by Howard Kroplick, a researcher and lecturer on the races, contains rare images of the races from the archives of major museums, libraries and private collectors. The book Vanderbilt Cup Races of Long Island will be available from Arcadia Publishing in March 2008.

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