Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is a prestigious group one flat race held in France which is often regarded as a national event by organisers and fans alike, not just a horse race. It is open to thoroughbred horse races of three years and older and is run at a distance of 1 1/2 miles in October of every year. Gaining the title of world’s second richest turf race after The Everest, it has hosted some of the world’s top international riders along with the best thoroughbreds globally.
In French racing there was an initial plan to restrict to horses born and trained in France – as was outlined by the French governing body of the sport. However, after the launching of the Grand Prix de Paris in 1863 and the Prix du Conseil Municipal thirty years later there was more emphasis on attracting foreign talent to French racing to bring aboutan internation flavour. In 1920 a third race designed to showcase French thoroughbred bredding was set up.
The name of the race was inspired by the popular monument Arc de Triomphe a symbol of the allies and for victory during the First World War in 1919. The race was first run in the year 1920, a year that was triumphed by Comrade who was a three-year-old colt, and was awarded 150,000 francs. The venue of the race had to be shifted from France to Chantill due to the renovation work at the Hippodrome de Longchamp in 2016 and 2017 respectively, but it still lives on, and is steeped in history.
Over a number of years, the race experienced a healthy injection of lottery funds, but this tapered off over the years until eventually there was a complete shift to sponsorship based fundraising in 1982. The current sponsor of the race is the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) .
Several horses have won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe twice over the years (most recently Alleged in 1977, 1978, Treve in 2013, 2014 and Enable in2017 ans 2018. Frankie Dettori is leading jockey in the race with 6 wins since his first on Lammtarra in 1995.