Kate

To tell the story of the Astor Cup, I must also tell the story of Sheepshead Bay Race Track (later known as Sheepshead Bay Speedway). The race track was located on the eastern part of Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. Originally built in 1880 by the Coney Island Jockey Club, it served as a popular horse racing track, especially among the wealthiest members of New York society. 

In 1908, the State of New York passed the “Hart-Agnew” Law. The Hart-Agnew Law was an anti-gambling law that targeted horse racing. Initially betting on horse races continued under the interpretation that oral betting between patrons was still legal. 

The law had further amendments passed to tighten restrictions and close loopholes, including an amendment that allowed track owners and members of its board of directors could be fined and imprisoned if anybody was found betting on its premise, even in private. 

In 1911, all horse racing tracks were closed – at least for horse racing. Sheepshead Bay Track continued to hold a variety of different events including (but not limited to): a charity festival, baseball games, track and field events and a landing strip for airplanes. 

Over the next few years, there were various rumors reported in local newspapers about the track being sold for land development. There were also rumors that various people were going to buy the track and turn it into an automobile track and an athletic facility that could hold a myriad of events. One particular rumor floated around that Henry Ford was purchasing the land and would turn it into an auto plant and testing ground. 

Finally, in March 1915, it was reported that the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation had been incorporated. There was an interesting shroud of secrecy around who the board of directors were, a temporary set was appointed. 

Eventually, it became public knowledge that the people involved. The executive board included Carl Fisher, one of the founders of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, who would serve as the President. Louis P Reeder, President of Flatbush Holdings Corporation; G. H. Brevillier, an attorney; Charles Danforth, H. M. Fowler, G. A. Robinson and B. G. Butts and David Beecroft would all be members of the board. Everard Thomspson was named General Manager while Blaine H. Miller was the engineer in charge of the construction. Superintendent Frank Clark of the Coney Island Jockey Club, who had been caring for the grounds since the facility in 1879 was also kept on the staff.

Sheepshead Bay Track was sold for $2,240,000 (which is approximately $71,295,207.92 in today’s money). $200,000 was paid in cash while the rest was mortgaged. There was also stock that was divided into two categories -– $1M preferred and $1M common. Newspaper articles listed many of the stockholders and I have compiled that list which you can find here but notable stockholders include Percy A Pyne 2nd, Mrs. Dellora Gates, Charles E. Danforth and Stanley Field, among many others. 

There were big plans envisioned for the Sheepshead Bay Track. General Manager Everard Thomspson described plans to hold football games, polo matches, tennis and golf tournaments and similar “high-class” events. He also had plans for an aviation center, plans to hold Olympic Games. Thompson said the Sheepshead Bay Track facility would hold hunt meetings, horse shows and dog shows. Thompson also said that they would explore options for an ice rink and hosting hockey games. Other possibilities included trap shooting and indoor tennis, squash and racquet courses. 

Thompson said his goal was to turn Sheepshead Bay Track into “a real paradise for the gentleman sportsmen, wonderful American Lords.” 

The actual race track itself, under the direction of former Indianapolis City Engineer, Blaine H Miller (who maybe had worked on Indianapolis Motor Speedway but I am unconvinced. He was definitely a friend of Carl Fisher though), was going to be a two mile board track. Sheepshead Bay Speedway was one of five board tracks that were opened in 1915.

A board track, most simply put, has a track surface that is composed of wooden planks (or boards, hence the name). They were steeply banked which allowed cars to reach higher speeds than they would on a dirt oval or even the brick surface in Indianapolis. In theory, the higher speeds were more thrilling to watch and would draw more spectators (which would make the promoters and track owners more money). 

The overall goal of the Sheepshead Bay Speedway Corporation was to replicate the success that Carl Fisher had found in Indianapolis. It was felt that this would be an easy feat – New York City’s population was easily double Indianapolis. And if Indianapolis Motor Speedway could attract 100,000 people – then Sheepshead Bay Speedway could easily attract at least 200,000 people and so they built enough grandstands to accommodate this expected crowd. 

Their strategy seemed to be pretty simple and it all centered around gaining the approval and support of the who’s who of New York City society. If they could attract them, not only will that keep cash flowing, it will encourage other New York City residents to come out to the Speedway. 

And who else better to help them with that pursuit than Vincent Astor?

Vincent Astor was the eldest son of the wildly wealthy John Jacob Astor IV. John Jacob met a watery fate on the Titanic in 1912 and Vincent inherited a vast fortune. Like many rich young men in this era, Vincent had a keen passion in racing automobiles and so, in August 1915, it was announced that he would be donating a trophy for the inaugural 350 mile race at Sheepshead Bay and that this trophy, known as “Vincent Astor Cup” would be an annual race.

The actual trophy itself, Vincent Astor commissioned Black Starr & Frost — a luxury jeweler that touts itself as America’s first jeweler (and dates back to 1810). It had been the preferred jeweler of the wealthy and even First Ladies like Mary Todd Lincoln. Black Starr & Frost is still in business today and their website boasts that they created the first auto racing trophy (which is actually false — that honor goes to the Vanderbilt Cup’s trophy that was created in 1904 by Tiffany & Co.).

A newspaper article from the time described the trophy as, “Simple and chaste in design, as it befits a trophy intended to be an appropriate ornament for a gentleman’s mantel or dining room. It is a reproduction of a classic Grecian bowl.” Inscribed on this cup simply was “Astor Challenge Cup”. There were decorations of bands of laurel and oak leaves and there was also a relief showing a racing scene of the grandstand, track and a car at full speed. The Astor Cup rested on an ebony base, standing 28.5 inches and 20 inches wide.  

Vincent Astor had a list of stipulations in the deed of gift which laid out Astor’s vision for the race which included that the race be held annually over the span of 5 years, always at Sheepshead Bay. Each year, the Astor Cup would be loaned to not the driver but the car owner who entered the car. Final possession of the trophy would be determined by a points system, with the idea that the points system would inspire not only repeat entries but multiple entries by owners vying for permanent possession of the Astor Cup. 

In addition to the Astor Cup, the purse that was being offered was $50,000.  That was a significant purse – worth nearly $1.6M in today’s money. And as far as I know, the only other race that offered a similar purse at this point in 1915 was the Indianapolis 500. 

This purse helped draw in the well-known drivers of the time such as Ralph DePalma (who at this point, was the reigning Indy 500 champion), Barney Oldfield, Eddie Rickenbacker, Ralph Mulford, Johnny Aitken among others. 

Harry Grant, an Indy 500 competitor, suffered an accident in practice after his car caught on fire. Heroically, he kept going while the car was on fire until he had made it through the turn because slamming on his brakes would have meant certain death for both him and his riding mechanic. Grant had sustained serious burns to his lower extremities while his riding mechanic Rueben Stafford was unharmed. 

Harry Grant was taken to Coney Island Hospital where reports had said that he would recover from these injuries so it was a shock when ten days after the accident, Harry Grant ultimately succumbed to his injuries, casting a grim shadow over the inaugural running for the Astor Cup.

The race was initially scheduled to run on Saturday, October 2nd, however rain made the track slippery and unsafe so the race was postponed for a week. It is unknown how large the initial crowd would have been had the race not been postponed, however, when the race ran on October 9th, there was an estimated somewhere between 50,000 and 70,000 spectators which was much less than what the Speedway Corporation had felt the attendance potential was. 

Gil Anderson in a Stutz was the first man to win the Astor Challenge Cup. Dario Resta led early but by the 120th mile, Anderson had taken the lead and went on to win. 

The second (and final winner) of the Astor Challenge was Johnny Aitken, winning in a Peugeot that had been entered by the Indianapolis Speedway Team Company which was owned by Carl Fisher, James Allison and A.C. Newby. (A Peugeot also owned by the Indianapolis Speedway Team Company would go on to win the 1919 Indianapolis 500.

The race ceased after the 1916 race. Sheepshead Bay held races until 1918 but Harry Harkness, who by then was the sole owner of the track, died of influenza in January 1919. His death tied the Sheepshead Bay Speedway up in estate lawsuits but it was finally sold to land developers and the track was razed in 1923. 

While I have not been able to find any sort of documentation (and IndyCar has never explained it either), I believe that because the Astor Cup was never held again after the second running, the trophy remained in possession of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Astor Cup’s exact whereabouts in those nearly 100 years is completely unknown to the public. It’s also unknown exactly why this specific trophy was chosen to be the post-reunification championship trophy beyond the generic “We sought to blend heritage and tradition with our future” line that Bernard gave. 

If I had to guess, it was the fact that the Astor Cup is a beautiful trophy with a fairly uncomplicated history and it hadn’t been used by CART/IRL as a championship trophy. It’s also pretty portable which is probably a nice perk. It also has a tie to Indianapolis Motor Speedway but more so to the greater American open-wheel racing scene of the 1910s.