The 1908 Briarcliff Trophy Race
In 1908 an event took place in Briarcliff Manor the likes of which had never been seen in the village before and has not been seen since. The Briarcliff Trophy Race featured 22 automobiles made in the U.S., Italy, France, Germany, and Austria, racing over a 32.4-mile course spanning much of Westchester County. The circuit was to be completed 8 times for a total of more than 250 miles. 300,000 people watched the race throughout the county, and Briarcliff Manor had more than 100,000 visitors. Howard Dale, Vice-President of the Briarcliff Historical Society, will put us in the driver’s seat to race along what one publication called a “tortuous circuit … with impossible bends and turns, each one with its pitfalls of narrow, creaky bridges, or … menacing stone walls.”