Racehorse TALK

Racing -- Paris in May: only for 'longchumps' it seems

25 years back, with a free weekend in Paris in May, I went racing at St Cloud on the Saturday and at Longchamp on the Sunday.

This was very civilized racing -- but considering the early season, not many people were there: more recently, in Prague and Berlin in September, the racing was not noteable and the attendance poor.

Planning to be in Paris in May, I googled the possibility of a good day.

I found this from last October:

The big days are obviously graced with thousands, but even at Longchamp the week after the Arc, and even with Group 2's and 3's and great live racing, there's no one at the track. Is this what it's come to? I felt like I was at Betfair Park or Canterbury midweek except I was in Paris and it was a Sunday, with great fields at a great historic racecourse.

Race 5 is the Group 2, 130,000 euro race. I go to the mounting yard, there's 200 people tops watching these beautiful animals pass by. Interviews on TV with owners, trainers and jockeys. Where is everyone? Race is run and won. Winner comes back to yard. Thirty people watch the winner come back to scale. Jockey interview with TV person. Replays on big screens. Presentation of trophies, no atmosphere at all. It's all for TV.


Prospectively, for atmosphere, Paris looks to offer little better than the racing at Prague or Berlin.

One can only wonder about the content of a business plan that envisages crowds attending the new racetrack grandstands in Sydney.

Does anyone know any better about racing in Paris in May?