According to Jeffery Stanton the first Racing Derby was installed at Ocean Pier park for the 1917 season.  The ride was seventy-two feet wide and had forty horses that stood in ten groups of four.  Stanton wrote that, "When the ride reached a speed of 25 MPH, the bell would ring and the winners would receive free rides."  The racer only operated one season and was supposedly moved.  However, there is no record of the ride after it was taken from the pier.  One year later a larger version opened on Venice Pier.  These were the first two versions of many throughout the country.  Below is a partial list of the installations confirmed through various Billboard articles and other carousel sources.

          The two versions that are left today run at Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio) and Playland (Rye, New York).  The unit operating at Cedar Point was originally built at Euclid Beach Park in 1921 and called the Great American Racing Derby.  It featured horses carved by M.C. Illions and Sons of Coney Island, Brooklyn, N.Y.  According to an article on page 46 of "Merry-Go-Roundup" the ride had "64 horses, placed 4 abreast in 16 bays."  In 1965, two few years before Euclid Beach closed, the ride was purchased and moved to Cedar Point.  It reopened for the 1967 season at the park.  Jack Fletcher said that the ride was shipped by truck to the Point and reassembled.  Although an intricate combination of cables, levers and 1920's technology; once the ride was completed it worked just like at "the Beach."  Cedar Point also placed the ride on a footprint nearly identical to the original location in size.  In addition, the park's patrons saw that the overhead canopy and gardens were similar to the ones that many saw at Euclid Beach.  The park renamed the racing carousel the "Cedar Downs."  Although old, the ride is still one of the most popular attractions at Cedar Point and still can thrill up to 128 riders at once.  

          A revolutionary amusement park opened in Rye, New York in 1928.  Playland, a park owned by Westchester County, had been totally laid out and planned ahead before the opening day.  The area had formerly been Paradise Park.  However,  the run-down rides and combination of prostitutes & thieves made it an unpopular hang-out for families and a headache for law enforcement officials.  Frank Darling (formerly of the L.A. Thompson Scenic Railway Company) worked with Gilmore Clark, L.G. Holleran, Jay Downer and the architectural firm of Walker and Gillette to design the new park.  Playland was an art deco wonderland with planned midways, well-placed rides and stunning foliage. Frank Prior and Frederick Church installed two major rides at the park.  The first was the Church-designed Aeroplane coaster.  This was a violent ride that ran where the Power Surge and Hurricane roller coaster thrill riders today.  The Racing Derby opened with the park in 1928 and according to the June 16 issue of Billboard there were three staff members, "Manager: John L. Roderick, Assistant: Raymond Morgan and Tickets: Krisder Rockey."  The ride spun next door to the Aeroplane  and can still be found thrilling riders today.  This version spins considerably faster than the Cedar Point version.  To compensate for the high speed the operators at Playland require riders to put their right foot on the top post, their left foot on the bottom post and lean in as the ride accelerates.       

          According to Jack Fletcher, the Maintenance Manager at Cedar Point, the Racing Derby was made from two different systems.  The main turntable was driven by an endless cable.  The second system controlled the horses "racing" motion.  This was run by a system motor & gearbox and turned with the table.  This part of the ride was powered by an electrical hot rail that ran under the turntable.  The horses moved forward and backwards via a series of cables that criss-crossed under the table.  Cedar Point invested time and money to keep this ride running.  Their machine shop duplicated unique parts such as the bearings, seals and bushings when they were needed.  In addition, the cable was changed yearly and the wooden track under the ride sometimes needed attention.  The Racing Derby is in many ways a working antique and the parks that run these rides must put a lot of care and time into them.

          These two rides are lovingly maintained by Playland & Cedar Point.  In today's world of higher liability and trends toward "the next big thing" both parks have made a statement that these rides offer up experiences that are worth preserving.  Few people who grew up at a park with a Prior & Church Racing Derby will forget the unique rumble as the large turntable got up to speed or the unique thrill that came from a four-person race.  As amusement rides get more intense it is nice to see that the rides of our ancestors still draw a crowd.  While the carousel will always be an important part of the amusement park experience, it is nice to know that this great variation will be with us for some time to come.

A big "thank you" to Stan Barker of N.A.P.H.A., Jack Fletcher of Cedar Point and Jeffery Stanton for their contributions to my research.

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