1936 APBA Gold Cup
Lake George, Lake George, NY, July 1936

Gold Cup Class Revisited : 1936 George Reis Runs Away With The Gold Cup

The average person at a Gold Cup race has no idea who is winning. Speeding around on a triangular course, the boats lap each other time and again, so that only those spectators who keep count on paper have accurate knowledge of which cigar-shaped water broncho is in front.

But last Saturday's race on Lake George, N. Y., was easy to follow. Of the nine scheduled starters, only two showed up — George Reis's 14-year-old El Lagarto; and Horace Dodge's Impshi, piloted by Kaye Don, English sportsman.

On the first lap, El Lagarto broke down, possibly because of damage done the night before by a prowler who broke into Reis's water garage. That left only Kaye Don, returning to action for the first time since an automobile crack-up on the Isle of Man two years ago, when he killed his mechanic and received a sentence of ten weeks in jail for reckless driving. Like Babe Ruth trotting out an over-the-fence home run, Don coasted to his 90-mile Gold Cup victory. "It was a joy ride," he beamed.

(Reprinted from Newsweek, August 1, 1936 p.20)

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