The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.
The Longchamp Racecourse is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tracks and a famous hill that provides a real challenge to competing thoroughbreds. It has several racetracks varying from 1,000 to 4,000 metres in length, with 46 different starting posts.
The Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère, formerly the Grand Critérium, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in early October.
Hippodrome Deauville-La Touques is a race track for thoroughbred horse racing located in Deauville in the Calvados département, in the Normandy région of France. Originally called Hippodrome de la Touques, it was named for the Touques River that separates the city of Deauville from Trouville-sur-Mer. It was constructed in 1862 by Charles Auguste Louis Joseph, duc de Morny, the half brother of Napoleon III.
The Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris is a Group 1 steeplechase in France which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Auteuil over a distance of 6,000 metres, and during its running there are twenty-three fences to be jumped. It is the richest and most prestigious jumps race in France, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late May.
The Prix Eugène Adam is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 2,000 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in July.
The Prix du Conseil de Paris is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.
Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud is a grass race course for Thoroughbred flat horse racing opened in 1901 at 1 rue du Camp Canadien in Saint-Cloud near Paris, France. During World War 1, the race course site housed the No. 4 Canadian Stationary Hospital operated by the Canadian Army Medical Corp. On July 8, 1916 the No. 4 CSH was elevated to the No. 8 Canadian General Hospital and operated until decommissioned in 1919. The facilities were built by politician and Thoroughbred owner/breeder Edmond Blanc (1856–1920) in whose honor the Prix Edmond Blanc was established in 1921.
The Fellow (1985–2008) was an AQPS top-class National Hunt racehorse in the early 1990s. He won the 1994 Cheltenham Gold Cup and narrowly lost the 1991 and 1992 renewals. He also won the 1991 and 1992 King George VI Chase and the 1991 Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris. Along with Mandarin, he is one of only two horses to win both the latter race and the Gold Cup. A full brother to French Horse of the Century Al Capone II, The Fellow was trained in France by François Doumen, ridden by the Polish jockey Adam Kondrat, and owned by the Marquesa De Moratalla.
The Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte at 1 avenue de la Pelouse in the northwestern Parisian suburb of Maisons-Laffitte in France was a turf horse racing facility and track for Thoroughbred flat racing. Opened in 1878 by Joseph Oller, inventor of the pari-mutuel machine, it sits on 92 hectares that belonged to the wealthy banker Jacques Laffitte.
AQPS, translated as "Other than Thoroughbred", is a general term used in France to refer to horses not listed as Thoroughbreds but destined to race. Anglo-Arabians, Selle Français, and French Trotters plus all other crossbreds can be qualified, in theory, as AQPS. However in practical terms an AQPS is akin to a Thoroughbred but not eligible to that breed's stud-book. The designation usually means one parent is not listed in the Thoroughbred stud book and almost always applies to those horses with Selle Français breeding in the dam line, be it very remote through repeated crosses with TB stallions. Reverse crosses are also performed by crossing a Thoroughbred mare with an AQPS-approved stallion, and this has met with success on the race-track.
Al Capone II is a French Autre Que Pur-Sang steeplechaser. Sired by the Selle Français jumper, Italic, and out of the mare L'Oranaise, he is a full brother to The Fellow who won the 1991 Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, the 1991 & 1992 King George VI Chase, and the 1994 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The Prix La Haye Jousselin is a Group 1 steeplechase in France which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Auteuil over a distance of 5,500 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in November.
Chantilly Racecourse is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of the centre of the city of Paris.
The Prix Ferdinand Dufaure is a Group 1 steeplechase in France which is open to four-year-old horses. It is run at Auteuil over a distance of 4,100 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late May.
The Prix de la Porte Maillot is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July.
The Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil, sometimes referred to as the French Champion Hurdle, is a Group 1 hurdle race in France which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Auteuil over a distance of 5,100 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.
Algan was a French Selle Français racehorse who competed under National Hunt rules. As a six-year-old in the autumn of 1994 he won the Grand Prix d'Automne, one of the most important hurdle races in France and was then sent to England where he recorded an upset victory over a strong field in the King George VI Chase. He continued to race for several years without replicating his early success. After his retirement from professional racing he competed in Point-to-point races.
The Prix Maurice Gillois is a Group 1 steeplechase in France which is open to four-year-old horses. It is run at Auteuil over a distance of 4,400 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in November. It is the championship race for four-year-old steeplechasers in France, and is also known as the Grand Steeple-Chase des Quatre Ans.
The Prix Renaud du Vivier is a Group 1 hurdle race in France which is open to four-year-old horses. It is run at Auteuil over a distance of 3,900 metres, and it is scheduled to take place each year in November. It is the winter championship event for four-year-old hurdlers and is also known as Grande Course de Haies des 4 Ans. The race was first run in 1986 and is named in honour of Renaud du Vivier de Fay-Solignac (1896-1985) who was President of the Société des Steeple-Chases de France from 1968 to 1977.
