France - horseracing trip?

[Force of One]

Hey,

I will likely be heading to France in the next year or so to appease my fiance. I have some schedule flexibiltiy and would like to try and time it around some quality racing there at that time as one of my "things to do on our France Trip" list.

I guess I am looking for general suggestions such as meets/races to hit, time of year to go that's best, or any other useful info or experiences anyone has with travel over there, specifically racing oriented.

Two points to consider:
1) we will have a car, as we will be traveling throughout the country (although I was under the impression the main tracks were close to Paris)
2) this is not the main focus of the trip, and will be just one of a variety of things we are doing. In other words I'd be more looking for like a 1-day excursion vs. an intensive week of racing.

Thanks for any help!

[JustRalph]

In a year they will need the tourism on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. why not visit the French Quarter and spend your money here............

[Force of One]

In a year they will need the tourism on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. why not visit the French Quarter and spend your money here............

I go to New Orleans yearly during the fall/winter, usually taking in a few days at Fairgrounds and will be down there over Halloween this year. As I said, this trip is more for my fiance to celebrate her getting her Masters degree. I'm just trying to work in something I like as well.

[matthewsiv]

While in Paris you need to go to Longchamp and then go out to Chantilly and watch the horses train and look at the beautiful architecture.

If you are there in May the french Derby is at Chantilly.

A jacket and tie is preferable if you are going racing at Longchamp or Chantilly.

You could also go jump racing at Auteuil.

Please excuse my spelling.

Look up Horseracing Abroad a UK company on the web, they do great trips and would give you some good ideas from their web site.

But Paris is the place unless you are in Deauville in July and August.

Have a great trip.

[beertapper]

get in touch with mark cramer. he is living in the area and knows the best places etc..

http://ridingfortheirlives.blogspot.com/
http://www.altiplanopublications.com/

[Force of One]

get in touch with mark cramer. he is living in the area and knows the best places etc..

http://ridingfortheirlives.blogspot.com/
http://www.altiplanopublications.com/

Great tip! Is he a member of the forum? I read some of his books and really enjoyed them.

[Scanman]

You've done well to start planning this early. Interesting that you note that this trip is for your fiance. I've built a lot of track visits into golf excursions with my brothers and/or holiday trips with my family.

The first thing you need to determine is where in France your fiance wants to visit. There are 148 tracks dedicated to thoroughbred racing all throughout France. Then when and how long you'll be in each location. I've visited 18 race tracks in France and I can tell you that the provincial/country tracks are every bit as enjoyable as the Paris tracks.

You've received some good input from other posters. I would concur that any/all of the Paris tracks (to include Chantilly) are great and offer the best racing. My suggestions for country tracks that I've been to are Compiegne, Deauville, Le Lion D'Angers, and Nancy. Others that I've haven't been to but would be on my short list are Cagnes-Sur-Mer, Clairefontaine, Fontainebleau, and Pau.

The motorways (highway/interstate) in France are very good, but expensive. Most are toll roads and are not cheap. Also, you will want to keep in mind the cost of gas (generally $5-6 dollars a gallon, but I haven't checked recently).

Most importantly, try to speak French whenever you can. If you don't know any now, then try and learn some basic phrases before you leave (you have plenty of time). However, if you don't speak French, don't let that put you off. My French is horrible, but I try and the locals pick up on that fact and if they know any English (most do) they will speak to you in English. They will acknowledge your effort and appreciate that you've shown respect for their country and culture. It will most certainly add to your enjoyment as you experience French racing, which I believe is some of the best in the world.

Lastly, forget that garbage about the French being rude. They are no different than anyone else. I lived in Belgium for almost 4 1/2 years; about 25 miles from the French border. My experiences/interactions with the French have been extremely positive. They are very proud of their country and their culture. As long as you respect that, they will go out of their way to see that you enjoy your visit in their country. It's been a while since I've been, but am looking forward to getting back.

Feel free to IM me if you need any additional assistance.

[Native Texan III]

Frogsracing has a useful English guide to French racing:
http://www.frogsracing.com/the-helping-frog

Don't take a car anywhere near central Paris - the metro etc are all excellent.

[Zman179]

Just to tack on to what others have said, a car in Paris will drive you nuts; the Metro is faster and much easier to negotiate the city. You will only need a car if you're looking to go into the countryside. If you're going from city to city (ex. Paris to Marseille), don't drive it: take the TGV instead. To get from Paris to Marseille takes 9 hours by car, 3 by TGV (it helps when you go 200 mph). Oh, and DON'T SPEED on the highways, it's loaded with radar speed detectors and you'll get a very nasty surprise when the authorities send your rental car company the tickets...and the rental car company will pay your tickets and absolutely kill you on fees to pay those tickets thanks to your credit card on file. Oh, one last thing: rental car companies in Europe charge double for automatic transmission vehicles. Hopefully you know how to drive a stick.

As far as the racing goes, here are the schedules:

Flats & Jumps: http://www.france-galop.com/Le-calendrier-officiel.8.0.html
Under "Recherche par date et / ou par hippodrome", just select the date you want and press ok.

Trots: http://cheval-francais.eu/fr/les-courses-par-date.html
The top tracks running are Vincennes, Enghien, Cagnes-sur-Mer and any track listed with the PMU sign on that particular day.

Admission prices are very reasonable, often around 3 or 4€ (sometimes free on weekdays). Past performance programs are free, but are only printed for non-PMU meetings. For PMU meetings you just buy the French racing form called Paris-Turf for 1.20€ at any newsstand (and I mean any) and they'll give you a free scratch sheet when you enter the track.

And I fully agree with Scanman, the provincial tracks are very nice. If possible, try to time a provincial track when it is holding a PMU meeting so that the pools will be large enough to dive into. If it is a non-PMU meeting, then you're talking about some seriously small pools in which betting more than 5€ would be betting against yourself.

You'll have a lot of fun there. I know that I always do. :jump:

[Force of One]

I'm sorry if I missed it, but what did you mean by PMU?


And thanks to everybody that has weighed in so far!

[beertapper]

Great tip! Is he a member of the forum? I read some of his books and really enjoyed them.

i'm not sure if he's a member here, but you could email him via his site...

[Native Texan III]

The PMU acronym means Pari Mutuel Urbain (French state-controlled betting system). Pool betting much the same as the Tote , TAB, but very, very slow.

http://www.french-property.com/reference/PMU-france/

[Zman179]

The PMU acronym means Pari Mutuel Urbain (French state-controlled betting system). Pool betting much the same as the Tote , TAB, but very, very slow.

http://www.french-property.com/reference/PMU-france/

It's not slow, but they only take wagers on two, sometimes three tracks per day (all in France). The post times are coordinated so that if one track is running late due to an earlier inquiry, etc., the other track holds back their post time to remain in sync.

PMU = OTB

[shouldacoulda]

There is so much to see in Paris alone, why spend time at the track? I was in Paris for 28 hours and managed to see the Louvre, Versailles, the Eiffel tower and Notre Dame. Could have spent the whole time at the Louvre. The place is huge and filled with priceless art. Either way, enjoy your trip, it's a cool place to go.

[alhattab]

I have interest in making a trip like this, but not at this point in my life. I just wanted to say kudos to the posters in here. Some seriously useful info for the punter-traveler. I know where to go when I am fortunate enough to need similar info.

Enjoy the trip when the time comes.

[Zman179]

There is so much to see in Paris alone, why spend time at the track?

My question is: Why not?

Here are some of the views of Paris (and the races) from the grandstand at Hippodrome d'Auteuil.

Grandstand at Auteuil:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs246.snc1/9327_1227452240693_1060650498_737917_8388475_n.jpg

Some of the views from the grandstand:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs266.snc1/9327_1227452280694_1060650498_737918_5237309_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs266.snc1/9327_1227452320695_1060650498_737919_1402553_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs246.snc1/9327_1227452360696_1060650498_737920_2435101_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs246.snc1/9327_1227452400697_1060650498_737921_3309081_n.jpg

and the view upon leaving the grounds, right next to the metro stop.:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs246.snc1/9327_1227452440698_1060650498_737922_3923560_n.jpg