Opening Day at Belmont (1905)

[Linny]

Originally Posted by joeydb

That was cool. I've never seen an old-fashioned start without a gate. And that horse on the outside never heard of "saving ground" apparently.
Too bad that we still don't correct for the different frames-per-second of the old films, because everything looks unnaturally fast. But I guess if we slowed it down things would look choppy since there aren't as many frames as are in modern film and video.

They had a straightaway over 7f so it's possible that was a straight track race.

The upper class also had slaves who would fetch drinks and cool their master off with a fan.

Those were the good ol' days where people knew their place. The nerve of people these days.

[Linny]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

The upper class also had slaves who would fetch drinks and cool their master off with a fan.

Those were the good ol' days where people knew their place. The nerve of people these days.

What does this have to do with 100yo footage from Belmont. I don't think that there were slaves there. This was 30 years after the Civil War and slavery was outlawed in NY well before that. The rich had servants, most of whom made little money but were housed and fed far better as a result of their service than they could have been otherwise. Many household servants ended up up named in the wills of their bosses, including my great grandmother who worked for the Fisher family.

Originally Posted by Linny

What does this have to do with 100yo footage from Belmont. I don't think that there were slaves there. This was 30 years after the Civil War and slavery was outlawed in NY well before that. The rich had servants, most of whom made little money but were housed and fed far better as a result of their service than they could have been otherwise. Many household servants ended up up named in the wills of their bosses, including my great grandmother who worked for the Fisher family.

Good grief.

[my miss storm cat]

Oh wow I never thought there would be bickering on this of all threads!

Geez.

[my miss storm cat]

Lookin' good for 109... happy birthday, Belmont.

(Love this footage so much... what better day to bump it up?)