The Washington herald., 1908-08-19
KILLED SPEEDWAY DRIVING
New York Roadster Relates Woes
Of the Horsemen.
Coarse Blocks Have Made IL ImpOs-
sibIe for Horses to speed
on the Streets.

Opened 20 the public on July . 1885. the
Harlem River Speedway is over ten
years old. says the New York Herald
Looking back ever The decade which has
elapsed since the great driveway was
completed, horsenaen can recall many
memorable scenes and incidents there
but in recalling them the devotee Of drfv-
ing cannot escape the unpleasant com
parison Of cpnditions as they were when
the soft earth road was new and as they
are in 1898
Nearly all Of the men who made the
Speedway their daily rendezvous and who
bought fast trotters and built private sta
bIes for them with such prodigality IN
the early years are missing from the road
to-day. and their places have not been
filed. though quite a number OF new
comers are Yet joining the ranks from
time TO time The class Of horses has de-
teriorated- too. and with most OF the good
ones nowadays driven only in the matt
rees.~ with professional starters. judges.
and other accompaniments which SAVIOR
q the race track the sport has taken on
a semi-professional flavor. which 10 old
school road drivers robs it Of its chief a.
traction.
There are other causes. however for
the failinE OF in interest which has been
noticeable in the last two OF three years.
Chief q these are the automobiles and
oJner things mat have come in its train
When the Speedway was opened one
could drive q LehI-haruess horse with
comfort and safety from the section Of
the city south Of Central Park 10 the
Bridge. The park drives. Seventh ave
nue.. ST Nicholas avenue. Riverside drive
and other main thorouEhfares. were nnely
surfaced with u1acadau or were natural
earth roads To-day all are paved with
blocks asphalt. or coarse gravel bound
together with cement and perhaps saru-
rated with crude petroleum while the
park drives. hard as flint are IN some
places as smooth as ice and in others as
fun Of ruts and holes as a country road
Light steel shoes. such as trotters wear.
are ground 10 pieces in two or three
drives over these roads Horses without
rubber pads are. constantly in danger OF
falling on the slippery surface. and 10
add TO the horseman'S troubles the auto
mobiles are running thick and fast On all
sides OF him and often into him. making
the once PIeasureable pastine Of driving
9 Iight-harness horse a mere mockery OF
sport under present conditions in New
York
The Speedway is the one place on the
Island OF Manhattan. OF in ali New York
for that matter. where horses can get
away from the invading machines but 70
enjoy the driving one must keep his rrot-
ter close 10 the speeding grounds. for II
Is no longer practicable to stable far
aw5y and drive ID 10 the road. as nearly
all horsemen did in the early years Of
The Speedway
The men who were prominent when the
Speedway was opened and who are still
driving there can be counted On ones
ingers-almost on the fingers OF one hand.
Nathan Straus. A c. Schuyler. J. ".
Cornish. Charles Weiland, Walter F. Kill
patrick. and one or TWO more make up
the list
OF the horses. old Cobwebs. 2:12. the
first king of the Speedway is per
maps the only trOtter Of note that has not
fallen by the wayside. Though his OWL
er IS a. present in Europe. the big chest
nut gelding still takes his daily spin over
the road. driven by Tim Sullivan. the
trainer Of Mr. Straus' trotters- He Is
twenty years Old- David L, PISA. the 1T
tie black horse that won the first brush
trotted on the Speedway. on July :, 1875,
died Of cid age only a few days ago He
was ten years older than Cobwebs-
The Speedway has been one Of the
sights of New York to visiting horsemeu
from all parts Of the world II is a week
" occurrence TO meet on the sidewa Iks
watching the trotters men from England
France, Germany. Austria. Holland. Rus
sia. or even Australia the fame Of the
great driveway for ight-harness horses
having literally circled the globe