St Mark’s Basilica in action during last year's French Derby.
Doha: On June 5, the Chantilly Racecourse hosts the 182nd edition of the Gr1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club, which is sponsored by the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC), as part of the partnership agreement between QREC and France Galop.
This highly-anticipated day in the French racing calendar is also a popular family day out thanks to its many free activities on the racecourse.
As to the sport, the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club is open to 3-year-old horses, the next generation of champions.
It runs over 2100 metres, with a 3-furlong uphill finish, and is one of the “classic” races in the French flat racing programme.
The cream of this year’s three-year-old crop will take to the course in a bid to clinch this title, one of the most prestigious in Europe.
This event is one of the most selective races of the season and is won every year by the fastest 3-year-old thoroughbred.
Worth €1.5m in prize money (of which €857,000 goes to the winner), the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club, also known as the French Derby, is the most valuable race in the French racing program after the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the world’s best horse race that takes place in the autumn.
The 2022 edition of the event have received 162 entries.
The first and the second forfeits or withdrawals will be on May 30 and 31. The supplementary entries will be on June 1 and the final declarations will be announced on the following day.
The Prix du Jockey Club’s history dates back almost 200 years. A group of sportsmen, led by the famous English dandy Lord Henry Seymour, were returning to the Chantilly Chateau on horseback when they discovered the pleasant underfoot conditions in front of the Chateau, which was ideal for a racecourse.
The teams of famous stunt rider and horseman Mario Luraschi come together at the Chantilly racecourse for a demonstration of Haute Ecole in between races on the day of the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club.
