France Galop

France Galop has teamed up with Goffs as an official partner of the London Sale on June 16. Under the terms of the partnership, Goffs will become the new sponsor of the G2 Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly on Sunday, July 20. French interest at the Goffs London Sale on the eve of Royal Ascot included Al Shaqab buying into Sparkling Plenty at £5 million just over 24 hours after her victory in the G1 Prix de Diane. "This new relationship further strengthens our growing ties with the French market,...

Plans are in place to start drainage work on the false straight at ParisLongchamp from Sunday, July 13, France Galop announced on Wednesday. The work will start 1,000 metres from the winning post, at the beginning of the bend leading into the false straight, and stop 600 metres before the winning post. Due to its proximity to a lake and the natural gradient of this track, this section of the course is said to have a greater tendency to retain water than the rest of the circuit when the ground...

Qualifying races for the Grand Prix de Paris have been extended to a number of fillies' races following a meeting of the European Pattern Committee at France Galop's HQ on Friday 14 February 2025 where several changes to the black-type programme were approved.  The first three finishers in the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club and the Epsom Derby, as well as the winners of the Prix de l'Avre, Prix Hocquart, Prix Greffulhe, Prix du Lys Longines, Chester Vase, Derby Trial Stakes, Dante Stakes and King Edward VII Stakes have already...

France Galop has approved changes to the entry process in Group 2, Group 3 and Listed races, following a meeting of its Board on Tuesday, December 17. The new measures will mirror those for Group 1 races which were implemented in 2024 and have guaranteed sustainable funding of the Owners' Pool (Poule Propriétaire). The Owners' Pool contributes to the financing of black-type contests on the Flat, including 32% of the prize-money offered in Group 1 races last year. It stems from the entry and supplementary entry fees paid by owners...

The 2025 France Galop budget has been formally adopted by the organisation's council, which met at ParisLongchamp on Dec. 17. France Galop president Guillaume de Saint-Seine said that the organisation will maintain 2024 prize-money levels. However, he also said that a full audit of the PMU, of which France Galop is a shareholder, would commence in the first quarter of 2025. The PMU's gambling turnover for the past year has decreased by just under €100 million, leading to a loss of €18 million in contributions to racing and trotting. De...

France Galop and the American Racing Channel (ARC) have extended their partnership through 2027, the companies announced on Friday. ARC sponsors the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest, which will carry prize-money of €380,000. On that same card, all of the remaining races will carry the ARC name, as well as the names of the South American Racing or Breeding Authorities. The partnership began in 2011, and allows French racegoers to wager on races in Latin America. These races are broadcast live on Equidia. Guillaume de Saint-Seine, president of France Galop,...

Henri Pouret has been named as the next chairman of the European and Mediterranean Horseracing Federation (EMHF) and he will begin his duties on June 1, 2025. An election was held at the EMHF's executive council meeting in Morocco last week to determine Brian Kavanagh's successor. Kavanagh has served in the role since the inception of the EMHF in 2010. Pouret is currently the chief operating officer and deputy chief executive officer of France Galop. He is also the vice-chair of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA). Pouret said,...

Racing will be cancelled in France at Fontainebleau and Croise-Laroche on Thursday, November 7, France Galop announced on Tuesday. The cancellation resulted after an emergency meeting of the France Galop board of directors at the request of president Guillaume de Saint-Seine. The Monday meeting analysed the consequences of a potential strike and mobilisation of the associations and socio-professional unions of the Galop and Trot  against the French government's plan to tax horse racing betting, included in the Social Security Finance Bill, currently being discussed by Parliament. France Galop released the...

Now in its second year, the Polytrack Challenge, sponsored by Martin Collins, will continue during the French all-weather season, but with a couple of rule modifications, France Galop announced on Tuesday. The two race categories remain unchanged, the sprint/mile division and the intermediate/Classic division will each offer the €40,000 to the winners at the end of the season, with the finals at Cagnes-sur-Mer. The points scale will be as follows for the Prix Irish River (Nov. 3), Prix Luthier (Dec. 4), Prix Lyphard (Nov. 26) and Prix Arcangues (Dec. 19):...

In a new partnership between the Aga Khan Studs and France Galop, it was announced on Thursday that the racing and breeding operation of His Highness the Aga Khan has committed to an across-the-card sponsorship of Prix Jacques le Marois day at Deauville from 2025. For nearly 40 years the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois, which boasts prize-money of €1 million, was sponsored by the Niarchos family whose long association with the race included nine victories in their familiar silks. The legendary Miesque was the first when winning back-to-back editions...

I read with interest the TDN article about Jorge Duarte, which is the latest in a pattern of stories about trainers (George Weaver, Rusty Arnold, etc.) with positive tests that have seemingly come from contamination. Glen Hill Farm has been racing and breeding horses since 1967. We are an American-based operation but have been building in Europe and Australia for the last decade. Having served on many industry boards, I always understood the goal for medication reform was for American racing to first have uniformity between states and then hopefully...

French trainer Fabrice Vermeulen has been suspended three months by France Galop, the Jour de Galop reported on Tuesday. He is allowed four days to appeal the suspension. The ruling was made by France Galop following an inspection of Vermeulen's yard on Mar. 11, 2024, where the F.N.C.H. veterinarian noted the existence of a prescription for intra-articular infiltration of a biological substance (hyaluronic acid) that was filled on Jan. 21, 2024 for Indyco (Fr) (Rio De La Plata). That horse ran at Cagnes on Jan. 29, 2024. However, that substance...