France Galop

The French Government has expressed its support of a phased-in resumption of the racing programme in France from Monday, May 11, and has announced financial aid for the racing sector largely through a temporary cut in betting tax. Last Tuesday, the French Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume and his ministerial colleague Gérald Darmanin met Edouard de Rothschild and Jean-Pierre Barjon, the respective heads of France Galop and trotting authority LeTrot, to discuss plans to allow the return of racing action in the week following the easing of lockdown restrictions for France....

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...

French racing officials remain hopeful that racing in that country could resume behind closed doors on May 11 after a meeting with government officials on Tuesday that France Galop Chief Executive Officer Olivier Delloye described as "positive." Among those in attendance at the meeting with the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture were France Galop President Edouard de Rothschild; Bertrand Meheut and Cyril Linette, chairman and director general, respectively, of the PMU and Jean-Pierre Barjon, President of LeTROT, the governing body of trot racing. "It was a positive...

French racing authorities will on Tuesday meet with government officials to discuss the next steps in getting racing back under starters orders. Nicolas Clement, president of the French Trainers Association, said chief among the topics of discussion will be finalizing a plan for when racing can resume behind closed doors and potential funding aid for the PMU. After holding all meetings behind closed doors from Mar. 13-and some as early as late February-all racing in France was suspended from Mar. 17 through initially Apr. 15 in response to the coronavirus...

France Galop and Le Trot, the governing bodies of flat racing and trotters in France, are in discussion with government regarding a possible return of racing behind closed doors. French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday night extended the country's lockdown to May 11, and so if racing is able to resume before that it would do so with limited PMU betting points operational; those betting shops located in cafes and restaurants would remain closed. The implications of this are currently being examined, with the presidents of France Galop, Le Trot...

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.

With racing in Britain and Ireland continuing behind closed doors, fellow European nations on the continental mainland are now enduring a temporary shutdown of the racing programme in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, France and Germany became the latest countries to call a halt to racing in the short term, following similar moves by Italy and Spain. France's President Emmanuel Macron imposed a 15-day lock down on Monday evening, while earlier that afternoon France Galop issued a statement announcing that there would be no racing in France...

French horse racing, both for Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds, has been cancelled until Apr. 15, effective Tuesday, as a means to help combat the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. A joint statement from France Galop and LeTROT read, "Our top priority is the health of all stakeholders in the industry and compliance with state directives. By suspending all competition, we want first and foremost to protect them from the current pandemic. With this decision, the French horse racing industry also shows its solidarity and responsibility towards the entire Nation. "We are fully aware...

The French-based Osarus sales company has announced that its breeze-up sale will be postponed until May 12 and 13, in the week after the Arqana Breeze-up Sale in Deauville. Seventy-nine 2-year-olds have been catalogued for the sale, with horses having originally been set to gallop at La Teste de Buch racecourse near Bordeaux on Apr. 8 and the sale conducted the following day. A statement released by Osarus on Friday read, "Due to the rising number of cases of coronavirus during the past few days and subsequent travel restrictions, the...

Heightened awareness of animal welfare causes and the plight of retired racehorses over the past 30 years has dramatically changed the landscape in Thoroughbred aftercare and it continues to evolve as more racing jurisdictions recognize the need for institutional aftercare funding. Organizations forming now to provide safe and meaningful retirement for Thoroughbreds have the benefit of an enlightened racing and breeding industry. In the past, the road to establishing necessary partnerships with racing and breeding organizations was often a dead-end. Now, the path is much more direct. For Au-Delà des...