France Galop

France Galop and the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club have extended their sponsorship agreement for Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe weekend for a further five years through 2027. The partnership, which has been in place since 2008, now encompasses a weekend including 12 Group 1 races for Thoroughbreds and Purebred Arabians and €10-million in prizemoney. The €5-million G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was on Tuesday named the Longines World's Best Horse Race of 2021; it was its fifth time receiving that honour. The France Galop and QREC...

Prizemoney in France is set to rise to €278-million next year, returning to the equivalent levels of 2017. The proposed increase means that prizemoney will be up €20-million (7.75%) from 2019, and €30-million (+12%) from 2021. The increase can be attributed to a growth in PMU net contribution to €820-million--the first time since 2015 that its contribution has risen above €800-million, and up €60-million on 2019--thanks to a growth in betting turnover, sustained international expansion and a drop in PMU expenditures, as well as France Galop's rebounding commercial revenue. France...

French champion jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot has had a three-month ban by France Galop stewards extended a further six months as he faces rape charges. Boudot, 28, was charged on May 12 for the Feb. 27 rape of a 25-year-old female work rider in Cagnes-sur-Mer. Also implicated is fellow jockey Pierre Bazire, who was charged in May with failing to prevent and report a crime. Bazire's suspension has likewise been extended six more months. Boudot, whose legal team has denied the allegations, had been previously accused of rape in 2018, but...

Together for Racing International (TfRI) and France Galop have joined forces to support Cheval Esperance, an association to give those either socially or physically disadvantaged the opportunity to develop skills and confidence through equine therapy. France Galop has donated a race during its popular Deauville meeting to the cause, with the goal of raising €20,000. Targeting people in the Normandy region of Rouen, Cheval Esperance was set up 15 years ago by Sabine and Laurent Bidault, who himself has a neurodegenerative disease. There are more than 200 riders each week...

Issues surrounding COVID-19 and Brexit have ruled French trainers Philippe Decouz and Edouard Monfort out of the inaugural Racing League competition. The two trainers were due to comprise one of the 12 teams taking part in the six-meeting fixture starting at Newcastle on July 29. Four Newmarket trainers--George Boughey, James Ferguson, William Knight and Stuart Williams--will instead form a replacement side, with jockeys Nicola Currie, Marco Ghiani and Daniel Muscutt their appointed riders. Olivier Delloye, chief executive officer of France Galop, said, "France Galop is disappointed that Covid and Brexit...

The G1 Prix Jean Prat will now be sponsored by Haras d'Etreham after a partnership between the historic stud farm and France Galop was announced on Wednesday. The 2021 edition of the 1400-metre race at Deauville will be held on July 11. "We have been looking for several years to sponsor a high-level Flat race and are really delighted to be able to partner with the Prix Jean Prat, the only Group 1 over the 1400-metre distance exclusively reserved for 3-year-olds in Europe," said Haras d'Etreham Managing Director Nicolas de...

French-based trainer Andrea Marcialis, already serving a six-month ban for allegedly operating a shadow training operation, is now likely to be on the sidelines until April 2025 after an investigation by France Galop stewards led to charges against the 35-year-old for various instances of medication violations and shadow operations, Racing Post reports. The cumulative ban for the four additional charges is three years and nine months. Marcialis picked up his initial ban in December of last year after stewards deemed he and his sister, Elisabetta Marcialis, had conspired to train...

Godolphin has been named the leading owner in France for 2020 by France Galop. Their 77-strong French string, trained primarily by Andrew Fabre and Alex Pantall ran 281 times with 60 wins. They earned $2,235,078, just $1,707 more than White Birch Farm at €2,233,371. Godolphin's British string's French successes of over €600,000 are not included in these totals. Peter Brant's White Birch Farm celebrated a win in the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) last season. Third on the list is His Highness The...

Due to a better-than-expected profit margin generated by the PMU in November and December, France Galop will redistribute €15-million in prizemoney and premiums for races between May 11 and Dec. 31, 2020 that experienced purse cuts. Prizemoney in France dipped by 20% in 2020. The redistribution will take place this week, and France Galop has added a special condition to races taking place from Jan. 28 through Feb. 9 that ensures the additional earnings don't preclude horses from races that they're currently being declared for. With PMU outlets in cafes...

The national rollout of race sectional timing at all premium Flat and National Hunt racecourses in France began this month, France Galop and its partner McLloyd announced on Monday. The McLloyd system will be implemented at all French national meetings beginning in February and is the first country to offer such broad coverage. The technology was tested in 2019 at ParisLongchamp, Chantilly, Deauville and more recently in Auteuil. Lyon-La-Soie and Marseille-Vivaux were added to the timing network on Jan. 14 and 15, respectively. Cagnes-sur-Mer joined the fold on Jan. 18....

All races in France since May 11, 2020 which carried a reduced purse due to the COVID-19 pandemic will receive part of their original prizemoney back in the second half of January, France Galop announced on Monday. At the end of 2020, France Galop's funding budget was €185 million instead of €248 million, a 25% decrease due to the two-month period racing ceased in France during the first French lockdown. In August, the France Galop Board of Directors determined that a positive funding result-if there was one--at the end of...

During the final meeting of the year, the Board of Directors of France Galop adopted the 2021 Terms and Conditions, which also includes a change to the weights female jockeys will carry, France Galop announced on Tuesday. Although the administrators are committed to maintaining the 1.5kg weight allowance for Flat female jockeys, after consultation with the Board of the Plate and women jockeys, in response to the renewed request of the Association of Jockeys and the Association of Trainers, some changes were made to the weight system. The changes, beginning...