Video: A glimpse at history, the 1904 Brooklyn Handicap
It’s not often one gets a chance to see actual footage of a horse race conducted more than 100 years ago, particularly one as big as the Brooklyn Handicap. A YouTube upload by TigerRocket of the 1904 running of that race at Gravesend, Coney Island, Brooklyn provides a glimpse into history.
Surprisingly clear for its age, the American Biograph & Mutoscope film clip is reminiscent of an early D.W. Griffith production. Particularly interesting is the beginning scene, where throngs of people pour out onto and across the racetrack at the start of the post parade.
The actual racing segment lasts two minutes, and the race was won by The Picket, trained by Carroll B. Reid and owned by Waldeck Stable.
