The Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is widely regarded as the best Flat race in the world, with a total prize fund of €5,000,000 and €2,857,000 to the winner. The race is open to horses aged three years or older and is held at Longchamp Racecourse. Due to renovations at the Paris track, the 2016 and 2017 renewals were both held at Chantilly Racecourse. This year’s Arc will take place at Longchamp on Sunday October 6, 2019.
The race is the centrepiece to a brilliant day of Flat racing with six Group 1 races attracting trainers from around the globe. In 2018, the fantastic Enable won a second Arc crown for Frankie Dettori and John Gosden, seeing off the three-year-old filly Sea of Class under James Doyle, trained by William Haggas.
The Group 1 Prix du Cadran is the big race on Arc Saturday over the stamina-sapping 4000m distance, with Vazirabad proving a popular local winner of the race in 2017 for Christophe Soumillon and Alain de Royer-Dupre.
Flanking the main event on Sunday are five other Grade 1 races, including the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, a race that often features the champion two-year-old. Also on the card is the big sprint the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp and the Prix Marcel Boussac for the top two-year-old fillies.
The Longchamp course itself is located just to the west of Paris, making it the perfect location for a weekend away, and prides itself on being affordable for everyone.
Prize money for Arc weekend in 2018 was 7.9m Euro, with 5.6m reserved for the big race itself.