Every day, many races take place around the world, especially in France and England, where the culture of horse racing is particularly inked. The most important of them usually take place once a year and bring together the best horses in the world, with huge winnings for the winners. This is our selection of the top five horse races.
- Grand Steeplechase of Paris
Created on May 25, 1874, under the name “Grand National”, The Grand Steeplechase de Paris is a steeplechase race held in May on the Racecourse of Auteuil. This is a group race only for horses at least 5 years old. This one of the most famous races in the world is considered the flagship race of the steeplechase season in France. The winner is considered the best steeplechase horse in the hexagon. Originally allocated 38,700 francs, the Grand Steeplechase in Paris today offers no less than € 850,000 to the best participants, of which nearly half is for the winner.
The Grand Steeplechase in Paris takes place in the month of May (20 and 21 May for the 2017 edition) at the Auteuil hippodrome. It is also the longest steeplechase course of this racecourse. A total of 17 events are scheduled during these two days of competition. The greatest champions of the gallop face each other in group competitions on a 6000-meter course littered with no less than 23 obstacles of various sizes, with spikes reaching impressive heights.
Among these obstacles are the famous two passages of the river of the tribunes which require a jump of more than 8 meters, and the very famous “rail ditch and fence” at the end of the course, which the amateurs nicknamed the ” Justice of the peace “), with its height of 1.60 meters and its width of 4.10 meters.
- The Grand National of Liverpool
It is one of the most mythical and famous steeplechase horse races in the world. Inaugurated in 1839, The grand national of Liverpool takes place every year at the Aintree track near Liverpool, England. Competing for approximately 40 horses 6 years of age and older, this race takes place on a grass track. It’s the most expensive race in England. In recent years, no less than £ 1,000,000 per competition has been distributed to the top participants as a stipend.
The Grand National of Liverpool is a course of more than 6900 meters dotted with thirty obstacles. Each year, the competition brings together the world’s greatest champions of the gallop. It takes place on a Saturday afternoon at the beginning of April. More than 70,000 spectators attend this event, which is broadcast by the entire British press, and which sees several million books circulating. This is also the opportunity for bookmakers to good business.
This prevalent horse race is also the subject of controversy because of the difficulty of its course, and the “unusual” obstacles it involves. It is the palm of the race with the most uncertainty, since its inauguration. The forty horses on the starting list have the same chance to cross the finish line, to give up exhaustion, or even to fall in the middle of the race.
- America’s Prix
Created in 1920, it is considered the World Trotting Championship. This race takes place every year in the month of January at the Vincennes race track in Paris. It brings together the best trotters from 4 to 10 years. America’s Prixe is now one of the biggest international competitions. No less than a million euros are allocated to the race, with almost half going to the winner.
The competition takes place on the last Sunday of January on the 2,700 meters of the Grand piste of Vincennes. The conditions for participation are particularly selective. The test is restricted to Trotters between the ages of 4 and 10. The winners of the Continental Criterium, the tenor De Baune Prize and the horses ranked in the first six places of a ranking according to a points scale on the results of certain preparatory races are given priority. Next come horses that have won at least € 180,000 (horses from 4 to 6 years old) or € 250,000 (horses from 7 to 10 years old), of which € 31,000 has been harnessed since the 1st of January of the year preceding that of the current event.
- The Prix de l’arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l’arc de Triomphe is a flat horse race in which the world’s greatest gallopers compete every year. This is the biggest international flat trial. It runs every first Sunday of October on the Longchamp racecourse (in 2016 and 2017, it will run exceptionally in Chantilly, due to the renovation of the racecourse). Reserved for thoroughbreds of 3 years and older (whole males and females), this race inaugurated in October 1920 takes place on a course of 2,400 meters. The Prix de l’arc de Triomphe has an allocation of 5,000,000 euros, one of the largest in the world.
The flat races are very popular with runners. The Prix de l’arc de Triomphe sees gallopers from all over the world gather every year, including the greatest stars of the discipline. This race is also one of the most attended, with no less than a billion viewers, and sixty thousand spectators on the track.