something every harness racing fan should watch first race ever filmed

[cliffyy]

From Edison films catalog: Great horse racing on the famous Hartford track, ... Filmed in 1897, at Charter Oak Park race track, Hartford.
Free-for-All Race at Charter Oak Park showing start and finish of a 2.04 3/4 heat run by the fastest harness horse in the world, John R. Gentry.


ENJOY IT HERES THE LINK www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwUz_eEc3vk


In The Life Of
John R. Gentry heres the link www.mi-harness.net/publct/hh/jhngntry.html

[LottaKash]

Crude but "cool".....thx,....:jump:

best,

[wilderness]

Here's 800+ OLD NY Times articles on the racing at Hartford, Conn (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=+site:query.nytimes.com+Hartford%2Btrotting).

[Sea Biscuit]

Crude but "cool".....thx,....:jump:

best,

I suppose thats the best Edison could do with a hand cranked camera.

Best

Sea Biscuit

[wilderness]

You mean he couldn't "drive" up to one of the photo booths and purchase batteries ;)

[Tom]

Looks like a Batavia Downs replay. :D

[cliffyy]

i spent many of nights at Batavia Downs when i was younger ,,,i miss seeing the tip sheet guy selling his tip sheet for half price after the 4th race lol

[wilderness]

i spent many of nights at Batavia Downs when i was younger ,,,i miss seeing the tip sheet guy selling his tip sheet for half price after the 4th race lol

from Dec 14, 1960 Harness Horse:

BATAVIA'S RECORD 20th SEASON

THE $96,000 AUTUMN GOLD SERIES, a dozen new racing stables, and the pioneer track's 20th anniversary party made news for area harness racing fans during a record 84-night season at Batavia Downs.

Mr. Budlong made a shambles of the pacing end of the two-part series, annexing four straight although he was once forced to a 2:011/5 season's record. The trotting end was anybody's race with five different winners. A one-time pacer, Handy Bill, owned by the local Bar Rox Farms, provided the fastest clocking with his 2:032/5 decision in the inaugural.

Batavia's anniversary was marked by the debuts of many new stables and racing strings which had been absent from the local scene for many years. Much of the season's success is attributed to the "new faces" and able new horses which joined popular Downs regulars to provide unmatched racing competition.

Among the most successful was 38-year-old Harold McKinley of Brampton, Ont., here with part of the Armstrong Bros. stable. McKinley-in his first local appearance in six years-won the Universal Driver Rating System crown with a .404 percentage. Bud Gilmour cinched his sixth straight dash-winning title with a pair of victories on October 29, closing night. Going into the final night Gilmour was tied at 39 wins with Eldon Harner, who was absent the last few nights here.

The Downs 20th anniversary came September 20 and nine first season horsemen still in this area along with eleven 20-year employees reminisced about the cool night in 1940 when a curious crowd of 2,500 reluctantly wagered $10,411 on the first night-time pari-mutuel harness racing card staged in upstate New York. A souvenir program commemorating highlights of two decades was distributed and more than 4,000 patrons shared in a huge birthday cake prepared by Sportservice, Inc.

Harness racing's newest contestants found the going crowded but the rewards bountiful in the Batavia Downs Colt and Filly Stakes, a program for two- and three-year-olds launched here in 1951. A total of 48 sophomores raced for a. record $53,796 in purses and provided three new track records.

Darcie Hanover, three-year-old Scotch Victor trotter owned by T. J. Zornow, won her $14,450 division in 2:032/5. Levi Harner reined the filly which led all the way to replace the 2:05 standard set a year ago by Grace Frost. The record also stood as a national season mark for better than a month. Knight Time, a son of former Downs record holder Good Time, won the three-year-old pace worth $14,150 in 2:023/5, two-fifths of a second better than Tar Boy's trip here in 1958. Leon Boring drove for owners Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Eastin.

Homebred Magic Adios, from the nearby Robinson Stock Farm, won the two-year-old pace in a record 2:042/5. Speedy Time, also a Good Time progeny, had lowered the mark from 2:05 (Meadow Cheer, 1958) to 2:044/5 in winning the second elimination heat. Magic Adios, Eldon Harner up, won the first heat. The two-year-old trot went to Henry, Sampson Hanover colt driven by John Bedell in 2:083/5. Henry was third in the second elimination test won by Meadow Beechie. Merrie Gaston, reined by John Patterson, won the other preliminary.

Biggest trotting event of the meet was the Harness Tracks of America Series. Air Record copped the $12,000 test in 2:022/5, fastest trotting mile of the Downs season. George Sholty drove the Bombs Away mare which went on to dominate the cross-country series. F. E. Ross' Air Record arrived home a head in front of the Bill Haughton-reined Circo.

Labor Day, devoid of other sports in this area, brought the faithful out in record numbers for a twin-bill. The matinee card was watched by 9,418 who wagered $399,886. The arc-light display brought 6,341 additional customers who merged with an estimated 4,000 who remained from the daytime entertainment. The evening's handle was $453,950, making it a $853,836 dollar day at the mutuel windows. Both attendance and handle were up over 1959's first local doubleheader.

Thanks to a carefully manicured racing strip fussily maintained by track superintendent Chuck Coil, Batavia witnessed more sped than a radar trap. A total of fourteen miles were recorded in 2:03 or less. And there were three trips in under 2:02. Most of the speed came either in the midweek $3,500 invitational paces, an innovation this year, or in the exciting Autumn Gold competition which thrilled weekend visitors.

Mr. Budlong won $12,720 in his five series appearances. Only a show finish to Stephan Smith, catch driven to victory in the first two legs by Herman Foist, marred his Downs record. Mr. Budlong edged Right Time, Andy Byrd twice and Newport Admiral. His narrowest win margin was a generous length.

After Handy Bill's verdict in the trotting opener, Heathcliffe scored in the second dash despite an overland trip. Su Mac Lad beat Heathcliffe a week later. Handy Bill returned to win the fourth leg, finishing a neck ahead of the fast-improving Helen Brooke K. Clint Galbraith's Canadian mare pushed home a nose in front of Heathcliffe in dash number five. Torrence Hanover was the next leg's surprise victor, nosing out Guy K. Protector and Bold Colby. Helen Brooke K. won again in the seventh dash, overtaking Torrence Hanover. Heathcliffe annexed the final dash .

Only six pacing tests were held. The last two had to be called off for lack of entries. Helen Brooke K. topping the trotting summary with $11,520 while Heathcliffe earned 11,370 and Handy Bill banked $9,600.

Among the new drivers at the Downs besides McKinley and Herman Foist, the later runner-up in the percentage department when he left for home, were Tom Wilburn, Dwayne Pletcher, Hugh Stewart, Jr., Joe Hylan, Warren Cameron, Dick Snyder, Albert Boucher, Elmer Conrad, Bill Harvey, Gordon Grenet and Jack Bailey. An area newcomer to the business-20-year-old Ben Webster-made his second season under the lights a successful one. Webster, third generation of his family to race trotters, was third in dash wins with 32.
Veteran drivers and favorites among area devotees such as Harold Wellwood, John Schroeder, Del Manges, Joe Hodgins, Earl Cordwell, Tom Dufford, John Mager, Ed Arthur and Bruce Nickells were welcomed again.

Improvements completed for the 1960 meet included five modern barns, replacing the last of the wooden stables here, and a new clubhouse mezzanine mutuel line.

All the mutuel lines got a workout as business records tumbled. A dosing night turnout of 10,300, wagering an all-time high of $595,320, boosted the season totals to the biggest ever for a fourteen week stint here, 455,079 (daily average 5,418) attendance and $24,948,895 (daily averaged, $297,011) mutuel handle. New York State realized $1,392,102 and Batavia and Genesee County each netted over $46,000 in local admissions taxes.