Paris Longchamp Racecourse – Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe

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Paris Longchamp Racecourse

Paris Longchamp Racecourse is a horse-racing track in Bois de Boulogne, Paris, France. It opened in 1857, at Route des Tribunes.

History of Paris Longchamp Racecourse

1856 – The Paris municipality granted la Société d’Encouragement the site of La Plaine de Longchamp, which had previously formed part of the estate of the eponymous Abbey.

1857 – Paris Longchamp racecourse was inaugurated on April 27, 1857, with the presence of Emperor Napoleon III and his wife, Eugénie de Montijo. The track was built by Antoine-Nicolas Bailly and designed by architect Dominique Perrault, who was also in charge of designing the famous François Mitterrand site of the National Library of France. In its early days, the better viewing boxes were reserved exclusively for the World’s aristocrats, including racing enthusiasts Prince Murat of Nassau and Prince Napoléon Bonaparte.

1863 – The Grand Prix de Paris was established. It remained the most lucrative race in the World up until the First World War.

1867 – Military reviews had taken place on the track since 1867. In the same year, an impressionist artwork, Édouard Manet, created his ‘The Races at Longchamp’.

1870 – The racetrack was bombed during the Siege of Paris in World War I.

1871 –Another artwork named similarly as ‘Race Horses at Longchamp’ were created by Edgar Degas.

1880 – When July 14 became a national holiday, Longchamp was the site of a military parade.

1904 – The wooden stands were rebuilt in stone, and one of the stands in the middle of the home straight has been preserved until today.

1914 to 1918 – The track became a stockyard, then into a field hospital by the Americans, before finally being used as an airfield.

1920 – The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was held in the racecourse as the finale to the historic European season’s finale. The race was named as a tribute to the French soldiers of the First World War. It takes place over a mile and a half of turf.

1930 – Most people came to Longchamp by the river Seine, just as the royal couple had done on its opening day until 1930.

1939 to 1945 – Racing continued during the German occupation of France in World War II, with many German officers in the stands.

1943 – Paros Longchamp was bombed again, including during a race meeting, because the Germans had transformed the viewing lawn into an anti-aircraft position.

1962 to 1967 – The stands were again partially rebuilt in a similar style to the constructions they replaced, which were all moved from the site by rail.

1978 – The last horse to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe twice was Alleged, trained by Vincent O’Brien and ridden by Lester Piggott, in 1978.

1995 – The Rolling Stones performed on the track on June 30 and July 1 during their Voodoo Lounge Tour.

1999 – The site first hosted the Solidays festival to benefit research against AIDS.

2012 – Frankie Dettori, winner of the British Flat Jockeys’ Championship in 1994, 1995, and 2004 was handed a six-month by the France Galop, the French racing authority, after testing positive for cocaine while riding at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe trials meeting at Longchamp in September 2012.

2015 – Longchamp Racecourse closed for a two-year renovation on October 5, 2015.

2016 to 2017 – It first hosted the Download Festival in 2016. In 2016 and 2017, the Race ran to smaller crowds in the northern French town of Chantilly because the racetrack was still under renovation.

2018 – Paris Longchamp reopened in spring after two years of extensive work. 

2022 – The Lollapalooza Paris festival occurred on July 16–17, 2022. The Rolling Stones performed again on the track on July 23, 2022, as part of the SIXTY tour.

AKA Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Sometimes, people call the race track Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but remember the horse race name Arc de Triomphe first.

The race is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is associated with the Paris Longchamp Racecourse because the Race is dedicated to the track and the only track where this event only takes place. It is run over 2,400 meters (about 1½ miles) and is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October, a 2-day event. It is the most famous Race in France, and “The Race” to win for European horses.

Arc de Triomphe is the third Race complementing the Grand Prix de Paris, similar to Prix du Conseil Municipal. It was named during the wake of World War I after a famous monument that had been the scene of a victory parade by the Allies in 1919. It was first to run on October 3, 1920, and the inaugural running was won by Comrade, a three-year-old colt owned by Evremond de Saint-Alary.

Track Details and Other Facilities

Track Details

5 Interlaced Tracks

  • It measures 17 hectares or 2,400 meters of turf tracks.
  • It resembles a giant foot shape.
  • All the courses at Longchamp are right-handed except the Ligne Droit (Straight Line) course.
  • The tracks share the same home straight.
  • It has 46 different starting points from 1,000 – 4,000 meters.
  • Each one of the round courses is undulating in nature – rising a total of 100ft from its low point to the highest point of the course.
  • The famous rise, majestic descending turn, and false home straight make the racecourse extremely challenging for the jockeys, offering an advantage to those familiar with the track.

Five Interlaced Tracks

  • Grande Piste (Big Track)
    • It is where the prestigious Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe takes place.
    • It is the most famous of all the Longchamp tracks.
    • A large right-handed track of 2,750 meters, broadly oval.
    • It is a 1 mile and 6 furlongs circuit, and the 1 mile and 4 furlongs start lies in a short spur just off the Petit Piste course and crosses that track twice before entering its own back straight.
  • Moyenne Piste (Medium Track)
    • A middle right-handed track of 2,500 meters and broadly oval.
    • It is slightly smaller than the Grande Piste, measuring 1 mile and 4 furlongs circuit.
    • It is very similar in configuration to the Grande Piste.
    • The turn for home begins around two-thirds of the way up this back straight.
    • The final bend is a bit tighter than the Grande Piste, and the “false straight” section of the course is much shorter in duration.
  • Petite Piste (Small Track)
    • A small right-handed track of 2,150 meters and broadly oval. 
    • It has a circumference of 1 mile and 2½ furlongs.
    • It features more straightforward dimensions.
    • It is very similar in layout to the type of oval track prevalent in US racing.
    • It also features a significant climb in the back section of the track.
  • Nouveau Piste (New Track)
    • A new right-handed track.
    • It extends for a distance of seven furlongs or 01,400 meters.
    • It features one bend.
    • It begins at a point furthest away from the stands and beyond the long sweeping turn of the Grande Piste course.
    • Initially running straight, it then joins this bend at its midpoint before turning to take in both the false straight and the home straight proper.
  • The Ligne Droit (Straight Line) course
    • A straight-line track of 1,000 meters or 5 furlongs.
    • It is a dead, straight track used solely for sprintcontests.
    • It is home of Prix de l’Abbaye held on the same day as the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
    • Beginning via a short spur off the bend of the Grande Piste course, the runners cross the Grande Piste, Nouveau Piste, and Moyenne Piste tracks before running straight into the backstretch of the Petit Piste.

Other Facilities

  • 🐎Overall Area
    • The area has a total of 57 hectares.
    • The venue measures 160 m in length, 35 m in width and 23 m in height.
    • The Capacity is 50,000 people.
    • It can accommodate 126 stables.
    • It has 150 betting points (machines and betting windows).
    • It features 75 boxes and 18 suites.
  • 🐎Grandstand
    • It offers 10,000 seats in the grandstand.
    • It offers 500 screens showing the races.
    • The old design featured 2 grandstands that have now been consolidated into one larger modern grandstand.
    • It is opened from both directions and composed of open floors, and the circulations are designed to allow free movement in the various spaces.
    • The building provides 360-degree views of the track.
    • The idea was a building with neither front nor back, where guests could circulate freely from side to side without obstacles.
    • The new building offers more flexibility and modularity as the suites can be transformed.

Rehabilitated Buildings

  • 🐎Administrative Pavilion
    • The creation of the central control station.
  • 🐎Stables
    • 98 horse boxes, horse showers, blacksmith space, etc.
  • 🐎Totalizer
    • Offices on the 1st floor and stable-boy rooms on other floors.
  • 🐎Pavilion Tribune
    • It was rehabilitated to restore its original form.
      • In particular, with a reopening of the gallery opening into the stands.
      • With necessary reinforcements of the structure.

New Spaces

  • 🐎“Pavillon d’honneur”
    • It is at the entrance of the racecourse.
    • It has professional spaces and a big brasserie.
    • A press room is located on the jockey-club tribune side.
  • 🐎Parade Ring
    • It is an essential space of the racecourse.
    • The former parade ring was moved and expanded while keeping down the centenary trees.
  • 🐎The “Planches”
    • Its pedestrian promenade of 5,500 meters is located at 4.50 meters above ground.
    • It organizes the flows between the “Entrée d’honneur”, the access to the lawn by the tunnel, the restaurant, the galleries, the parade ring stands, and the Longchamp garden stands.
    • They are spaces for temporary events.
  • 🐎The Balances Pavilion
    • It follows the parade ring.
    • It includes the professional’s spaces.
      • Jockeys changing rooms with relaxation area
      • A weighing hall (to weigh the jockeys before and after the racing)
      • The racing director’s saddlery and office
      • The commissioner’s office and the state control.
  • 🐎The Temporary Pavilion
    • It is removable.
    • A tribune completes the Jockey-club one during the big demonstrations (7,500 squares).
  • 🐎The “Pavillon de Suresnes”
    • It includes technical and storage spaces.
  • 🐎Arena
    • It is a reserved area for a future pavilion that will be symmetrical with the Brasserie and the “Pavillon d’honneur”.
  • 🐎The Tracks Restaurant
    • It is implanted in the north extremity of the Planches,
    • It measures 450 m² and has a wide terrace with a view of the racing.
  • 🐎The P2 Totem
    • It was implanted on the “lawn of Suresnes”.
    • It has race spaces connected to the finish line P2.

Dining

  • 🐎ParisLongchamp Brasserie
    • It is the ideal place for a business lunch, some family time, or a meal with friends.
    • The Brasserie is open every day of the races.
    • Proper attire is required to access this area.
    • It is Located in the heart of the racecourse.
  • Capacity
    • Cocktail: 500 people
    • Dinner – Seated lunch
    • Indoor: 300 people
    • Terrace: 100 people
  • Open Hours
    • Wednesday to Friday – 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm & 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
    • Saturday – 12:00 noon to 10:00 pm
    • Sunday – 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm
  • 🐎Food Trucks
    • It offers various food trucks for any event on the racetrack.

Race Schedule and Major Events & Races​

Paris Longchamp Race Schedule

  • 🐎Live Racing Schedule
    • It hosts flat racing or thoroughbred horse racing from April to October each year.
    • Races usually occur between April and July, then again during September and October.
    • Longchamp Racecourse stages 29 Flat fixtures, including no fewer than 16 Group 1 races.
    • Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (the track’s most prestigious race) runs over 2,400 meters on the first Sunday in October each year. 

Paris Longchamp Racetrack Schedule

  • 🐎Weekdays & Weekends
    • Opening of the ticket offices – 11:30 am
    • Opening of the racecourse – 12:00 noon
    • Closing of the racecourse – 7:00 pm

Top 3 Major Races

Location and Access to the Racecourse

Location

  • The Paris Longchamp Racecourse, or in French, called Hippodrome de Longchamp, is a 57-hectare horse-racing facility at the Route des Tribunes in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France.
  • It is located on the western edge of the Paris’ Bois de Boulogne and between Bois de Boulogne and the River Seine.
  • It is situated around six and a half miles from the center of Paris and just a few minutes from the Eiffel Tower.
  • The nearest metro stop (Porte d’Auteuil) is about 10 minutes (walk) from the racecourse.

Access

  • 🐎Parking
    • Parking is subject to availability.
    • It is recommended to book a parking space in advance via the ticketing website, where it is a cheaper price than on the day.
  • 🐎Admission
    • The normal racing entry fee is 4 Euros,
    • On the first Sunday of October, the entry price is doubled for the Prix de l’arc de Triomphe.
    • Free General Admission: 12 years old, person with a disability, PMU card holders (Silver Pass, Gold Pass, and Le Club My PMU card).
    • Reduced rate: 12 to 18 years old, students over 60 years old, jobseekers, accompanying persons for persons with disabilities, beneficiaries of the Club France Galop card.
  • 🐎Bus
    • It is a popular way to reach the Hippodrome de Longchamp because of its connections with multiple routes:
      • 241 & 43– Hippodrome de Longchamp stop · 500 m (6 min) walk
      • Bus route 43 only stops at the Hippodrome de Longchamp stop on Saturdays and Sundays.
      • 244– Les Moulins-Camping stop · 800 m (10 min) walk.
  • 🐎Shuttle
    • A free shuttle service from Porte Maillot and Porte d’Auteuil (at the bus station)
    • 1st departure is at noon, then every 20 minutes or so.
    • The last departure from the racecourse is 18:45 unless otherwise stated.
    • Metro exits for the 2 shuttle pick-up points
      • Porte Maillot – exit n°6
      • Porte d’Auteuil – exit n°1
  • 🐎Train
    • It also has multiple lines.
    • Visitors can take a free shuttle bus from each station to the racecourse on weekends and bank holidays.
    • Stations
      • M10 line– Porte d’Auteuil station
      • M1 line– Porte Maillot station 
  • 🐎Tram
    • T2 Line- Suresnes Longchamp · 1.9 km (23 min) walk.

Contact

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Paris Longchamp Racecourse

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