Just posted this on my blog (with photos) - perhaps of interest Hello all, I have been fortunate enough to be able to visit both Longchamps and Santa Anita this season for their big race meetings, seeing Treve win the Arc and Mucho Macho Man winning the BC Classic. Two very different experiences were had at two massive racing events, and here are my views (and pictures) from the two events. We went to Paris for a long weekend with the Arc day of racing as its focal point (well for me, my wife probably would say the visit to central Paris was the focal point), and in many ways the experience didn't disappoint. Firstly, Longchamps is a beautiful racecourse, its setting is wonderful, with the Eiffel Tower peaking out from behind a wooded scene, a location with a view that could rival either Ascot or Goodwood for beauty. The facilities are also very good, with good viewing areas, seating and areas to eat/drink (including allowing bottles of wine on the grandstands), all of which are sadly lacking from many of Britain's racecourses. Throw in the cheap entrance fee (9 euros if I recall) and a brilliant day of racing with Group 1 races covering the card from start to end, and it was very hard not to be impressed by the racing experience for the Arc day. However, the most impressive thing for me on the day was the fanatical support by the Japanese for their horses, the course was busy with Japanese fans, all with their dedicated standing stools and newspapers (used for sitting on) and most with either face painting or flags to show their support for their horses. This is where I struggle with the experience at Longchamps, the race meeting isn't supported by the French public as much as I would have expected. The grandstands were not completely full, and most of the fans at the course were either from the British Isles or Japan, and the lack of home support (given the strong hand French racing had in the races) was really intriguing. Throw in the bastardisation of the meeting by the Qatar influence renaming the raceday to their name, and it looked a little bit sad for the French racing public. The betting in France isn't good, but I was under the impression that most people were at the course to enjoy the days racing, the stories that it produced and to be able to say that they had seen X or Y win the biggest flat horse race in the world. An enjoyable experience, and one that made the trip to the US an exciting one, to see if the Americans could put on a bigger and better show than their European counterparts. If Longchamps is pretty (like the girl on the bus), then Santa Anita is Jessica Hart, Candice Swanepoel and Miranda Kerr all rolled into one!! Santa Anita is absolutely stunning, with the mountains providing a startling backdrop to a lush green (and also dirt) racecourse, with palm trees and glorious blue skies. It really is a place that takes the breath, and really should provide the perfect backdrop for the meeting of the best horses in the world. The facilities were very good, it is a massive course with lots of drinking/eating areas and lovely viewing areas for the racing. The course is perfect for the worlds best racing. However, this is the problem, we didn't get to see the best horses in the world, we saw a smattering of European raiders (headed by the Coolmore team) and the best of the Americans, but we didn't have the same attention from the east that we had at Longchamps, and we didn't get to see the best horses from Europe. Throw in the drug issue, in which they are allowed to race on Lasix, and the fact they race on dirt because they don't like US horses not winning the classic (think Ravens Pass and the "heres Curlin on the outside!!!!!" race on the tapeta). However, the biggest issue with the Breeders Cup is the length of the racecard and the lack of focus on building up to the big race, but rather people just wanting to win money on their Exactas or Pick 2/4/6/7799785779's. The card ran from 10 AM until the last race at almost 6PM, and had lower quality races before the "Breeders Cup" races, and they had too many sprints and not enough variation in races, it was all a bit boring after the first few races. They should reduce race numbers, vary the races and improve the quality of the fields, rather than diluting them as they seem to have done. They don't need two days of racing, they need one big day that draws horses from around the world, who have competed in the best races to draw a massive story to the event. I get the feeling that Americans don't really like horse racing stories unless they are the special ones like Sea Biscuit and Zenyatta, and rather than going racing to see the stories unveil, they just go to bet/drink/eat, much like the epidemic that ruins many a good days racing in the UK. If I had to watch one days racing, it would be at Longchamps all day long, however if I want to look at the scenery, Santa Anita is the new Victorias Secret catwalk show !!!!! please log in to view this image
A bit like the red wines Nass - California all big, bold and brassy but the real quality is in France
Not next year, but it is on the list of races to do. The big focus will be Melbourne Cup in 2015 I think. I will try to get to Longchamps again next year, and perhaps a day out at the Curragh/Punchestown or the like.
I am not sure what arrangement you made for tickets at Longchamp, but the advertised gate price for Saturday had gone up from four Euros to six; and for Sunday had gone up from eight Euros to ten (definitely, I paid that!); whilst there was a two-day ticket available for fourteen Euros. Also, a five Euro charge had been introduced for racecards (previously free) although it has to be said that the Longchamp Arc racecards have always been substantial but had become much more so this year (124 pages) if your French was up to it. At the top British meetings you are unlikely to ever see a racecard resembling a book! I think our bankrupt socialist neighbours had decided they needed us to contribute more. I have seen very large contingents of Japanese racegoers on three occasions on Arc day and I suspect that they do not all come from Japan for the weekend but from France and other host European countries. They show up as soon as the gates open on Sunday and form a line along the running rail either side of the winning post, as you say with stools to stand on because they are not the tallest nation on Earth. That is really annoying for those of us with a camera trying to find a gap to get a shot over somebody’s elevated shoulder! I think that you may have underestimated the French presence. What I do notice every year that I have been is that half the French crowd disappear immediately after the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe; obviously they are responsible for the vast majority of the car park. I would estimate that the British and the Irish probably represent fifty or sixty per cent of the attendance. This year’s attendance may well have been down on recent years because there were no standout Anglo-Irish contenders plus many people have had to tighten their belts (and purse strings). This year the French put on special PMU windows and other facilities with Japanese speaking staff as they were caught out last year. They had provided “help” for the Japanese back in 2005 when Deep Impact visited bringing a big fan base and it is an International aspect that France Galop are clearly keen to encourage. I rarely ever bother with the betting in France. The huge deductions on the PMU make any fancied French horse ridiculously short and as I will not bet when the going is soft (and it usually is at the Arc meeting), I go just for the racing. If I am lucky, my ante post bet has made it to the start (no joy with Flintshire this year). I have never been to the races in the United States, so there is no way to draw a comparison with what I have only seen on the box! As you noted, American racing is dominated by sprints and the Breeders’ Cup Marathon must be one of the longest races in their calendar. The fact that some of the supporting races on the Breeders’ Cup cards do not seem to attract very good sized fields (especially the turf juvenile races) will be down to the prohibitive entry fees as there do not appear to be many European races offering a free nomination. We could see a unique situation at Newmarket in 2014 where the favourites for the first two Classics are Breeders’ Cup winners: Chriselliam and Outstrip. As you say, there are too many Breeders’ Cup races in an effort to create a two day card. They may have a lesson to learn from the French (did I really write that?) in that they should create an under-card (like the Saturday of Arc weekend with four Group 2 races) followed by the one big feature day. It does not entirely surprise me that your experience of American racing was just like the bet/drink/eat social occasion that is taking hold over here. This is not unique to horseracing in America: I have been to baseball games in four cities and drinking and eating are a larger part of the three hours than the game, assisted by all the breaks.
STH, interesting, better than the Punchestown festival? QM, I was expecting the course to be packed to the rafters and I don't think it was (was about on the furlong post for the Arc) and that puzzled me. If it had been in the UK I would have expected a sell out, and that is where I think the race meeting is under supported by the French. A question for you. Did the Qatar sponsorship of the event make any difference to you?
Nass, the sponsorship does not make any difference to me other than I have got a couple of ball caps that they gave out last year and the year before and there is now an Arab race on each day of Arc weekend! If your question is one of ethics, I do tend to turn a blind eye although I do disapprove of the way that the Qatari brigade appear to be buying everything up generally. I think their Arc sponsorship deal runs until 2022 so we had best get used to it. The fact that they sponsor the Arc Trials Day card means that entrance is free, so that does save me four Euros as you used to have to pay to get in!
