On 7 September 1896, a Riker electric car made history at Narragansett Trotting Park in Cranston, Rhode Island, winning what is widely regarded as the first automobile race held on a closed track in the United States. The five-mile Providence Horseless Carriage Race was staged on the one-mile dirt oval during the Rhode Island State Fair.
The Riker, driven by A. H. Whiting, completed five laps in about 15 minutes, averaging roughly 20–24 mph. It defeated an electric car from the Electric Carriage & Wagon Company and a gasoline-powered Duryea, highlighting the competitiveness of electric propulsion in the automobile's earliest years. The event attracted tens of thousands of spectators and was part of a series of races held at the fair. Remarkably, electric cars continued to perform strongly in the subsequent heats.
The victory was achieved by the Riker Electric Motor Company, founded by engineer Andrew L. Riker, an early pioneer of electric vehicles who later became an important figure in America's emerging automotive engineering industry. More than a century later, the Riker's victory offers a fascinating reminder that electric propulsion was competing seriously with petrol power long before today's EV era.
