France Galop

Champion jockey Oisin Murphy has said he will "fight to clear his name" after it was revealed on Thursday that he had tested positive for metabolites of cocaine at Chantilly on July 19, the card during which he partnered The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}) to finish second in the G2 Prix Robert Papin. Murphy said he has "never taken cocaine." If found guilty, he could face a lengthy ban from the saddle; Frankie Dettori was sidelined six months in 2012 after testing positive for cocaine in France-he...

Attendance at ParisLongchamp on Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe weekend on Oct. 3 and 4 will be cut from its original projection of 5,000 after Paris and its suburbs were once again placed in the Reinforced Alert Zone of areas with high incidences of coronavirus. The French government announced on Wednesday that maximum attendance at public events in such zones would be 1,000, but France Galop is seeking clarity on whether that number includes staff. France Galop has suspended ticket sales for the weekend and, pending the publication of the...

Au-dela des Pistes, France's re-training and re-homing organization, will benefit from a pair of initiatives on Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe weekend Oct. 3 and 4. Modeled after the Breeders' Cup Pledge, owners, trainers, breeders and jockeys associated with runners on Arc weekend can opt to donate a percentage of their earnings over the two days to the charity. Additionally, all ticket sales for the Sunday program will be donated to Au-dela des Pistes. The crowd is limited to 5,000 racing professionals and their guests.

Arc at Home, a social media campaign geared toward engaging with fans unable to attend the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp due to the coronavirus pandemic, was launched by France Galop on Wednesday morning. The social media department of France Galop will provide exclusive information and stories on its Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts utilising the @FranceGalop handle with hashtag #QPAT. Fans are also encouraged to share their favourite #QPATmemories, with the opportunity to win prizes. In 2020, two time Arc heroine Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire})...

Delphine Violette, 43, has been appointed the new Commercial and Marketing Director of France Galop. She started developing partnerships around international events organised by the French Rugby Federation in 2009. In 2018, she was promoted to the position of FFR Director of Marketing, Commercial and Event Activities. Violette begins her new role on Oct. 1 and succeeds Fabrice Favetto Bon. "I am very pleased to welcome Delphine Violette as Commercial and Marketing Director of France Galop," said France Galop Managing Director Olivier Delloye. "Delphine has all the experience and skills...

Approved members of France Galop can now purchase tickets for the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, with French racing's showpiece on Oct. 4, and the prior day's card, to be limited to a crowd of 5,000. France Galop has revealed that the spectator experience has been redesigned to comply with social distancing protocols. In addition to more upscale hospitality packages, simple entry tickets for members will be free on the Saturday and on the Sunday will range from €15 to €30. Proceeds from the sale of single tickets will...

Effective Monday, Sept. 7, Phoenix Thoroughbreds cannot have runners in races in Great Britain until further notice, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Thursday. Phoenix had earlier in August made the decision to leave UK racing and was reportedly banned from racing in France a few days later. Any horse currently entered will not be permitted to be declared in its current ownership. All racing administration accounts of all registered ownership entities that involve Phoenix Thoroughbreds have been suspended. The BHA is in regular correspondence with Phoenix Thoroughbreds, and after...

Phoenix Thoroughbreds and the Phoenix Ladies Syndicate have been allegedly banned from running horses in France, Racing Post reported late on Friday. France Galop has not confirmed the ban. Phoenix Thoroughbreds has been shrouded in controversy since last November when its founder and chief executive officer Amer Abdulaziz Salman was named in a U.S. federal court trial as being involved in a money-laundering operation. Abdulaziz was also accused of stealing money from sham cryptocurrency OneCoin, which he purportedly helped to run. Abdulaziz has repeatedly denied the allegations. Phoenix announced earlier...

Spectators will be allowed to return to French racecourses in a limited fashion beginning on July 11, France Galop, LeTROT and the Federation Nationale des Courses Hippiques announced on Saturday. However, this decree applies only to racecourses that are not located in zones that are in a state of emergency due to COVID-19, and no more than 5,000 spectators, racing professionals and staff needed to run a race meeting combined may attend. Social distancing rules have to be observed, as well as mandatory face masks must be brought and worn...

With Paris having been declared a green zone by the French government, racing will once again resume at ParisLongchamp, Saint-Cloud and Auteuil from next week. On May 19, eight days after racing in the country resumed behind closed doors, racing was called off by government order in the country's red zones, including Paris and its surrounding areas, causing meetings to be moved. Racing will still be held without spectators.

Foreign-trained horses will once again be allowed to run in France from Monday, June 15, France Galop announced on Friday. Racing in France resumed on May 11 behind closed doors after being shut down in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, but was restricted to French-trained horses. France Galop reiterated in its release that the people accompanying runners across borders would be subject to health restrictions but in place by governments.

1st-Nantes, €14,000, Mdn, 6-9, 2yo, 7fT, 1:27.59, g/s. FOREFRONT (IRE) (c, 2, Estidhkaar {Ire}--Archange {Fr}, by Arcano {Ire}) ran seventh in a winner-producing maiden over six furlongs at Saint-Cloud in his May 12 debut and duly obliged as the 9-5 favourite here to become the first winner for Tara Stud-based freshman sire Estidhkaar (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). Breaking ahead of all 10 rivals to gain an immediate lead, he held sway throughout and lengthened clear of toiling rivals in the straight to easily dismiss Another Hot Topic (Ire) (Rio de...