coronavirus and French horse racing

France Galop has confirmed that racing will be allowed to continue in the country during the new lockdown which came into force at midnight on Thursday. The action will return to being staged behind closed doors with only key personnel allowed to attend. The trainer and one member of staff per runner will be permitted but owners and spectators are no longer allowed to be present at race meetings in France. The current restrictions are expected to be in place for at least a month. A statement released by the...

With racing set to resume in France on Monday, France Galop has announced adjusted prize-money allocations for the remainder of 2020. In a bid to preserve the country's grassroots racing, there will be no reductions in the purses for PMH races run in the provinces for €15,000 or less, or for races in the Paris area which previously had a value of €19,000 or less. The most swingeing cuts come at Group 1 level on the Flat, with those races being reduced in value by 40%. All other group and...

With the resumption of French racing planned for Monday, May 11, France Galop has released a revised racing programme for the period of May 11 to 31. All meetings will take place behind closed doors and under strict sanitary measures as previously trialed in the country before racing was suspended. There will be 14% more races at the Parisian courses of ParisLongchamp, Chantilly and Saint-Cloud than originally scheduled during that time period, to include an extra 22 races for 3-year-olds and 24 for older horses. The number of races rescheduled...

France Galop president Edouard de Rothschild attended a meeting on Tuesday morning with representatives from France's government ministries overseeing the agriculture and accounting sectors. Along with Jean-Pierre Barjon, his counterpart in the French trotting industry, de Rothschild discussed previous submissions to government documenting the shutdown of racing in the country and its affect on the industry's 21,000 workers. The economic impact of the cessation of racing since Mar. 17 until the end of April is estimated to be €58 million. A key factor in the resumption of the sport in...

France Galop will redirect funds collected from fines to trainers as a means to help cushion the financial blow of lockdowns imposed by COVID-19, Jour de Galop reports. The fund contains of €540,000, and if split evenly among all 381 eligible trainers each would receive €1,417. France Galop, however, is giving trainers the opportunity to forego the aid to further assist those in need. Any trainer who foregoes the aid will have their share evenly divided among all others.