Horses In The City Campaign At The Place De La Concorde Set For September

[Wandering Eyes]

A free, new event, “Horses in the City”, will be held at the Place de la Concorde in Paris on September 5-6, France Galop announced on Thursday. Sister events will soon be available in other cities like Deauville and Chantilly.

Racehorses will take over a transformed Place de la Concorde, which will be turned into a parade ring, hosting horse parades and jockeys, centred in an ephemeral village. The public will be able to enjoy many free activities ranging from equestrian demonstrations, activities for children, as well as racehorses retrained by Au-Dela des Pistes put through their paces. There will also be an opportunity to meet many racing professionals and see the training provided in the AFASEC schools, dedicated to breeding and racing.

“Horses in the City” is made possible thanks to the permission of the Paris City Hall, but also to the support of all the players in the sector: GTHP (Groupement Technique des Hippodromes Parisiens), AFASEC which trains in racing professions, FNCH (National Federation of Horse Racing) or the association “Au-delà des pistes” which promotes the retraining of racehorses.

The event is part of France Galop president Guillaume de Saint-Seine's vision to bring racing back to the people of France. Encouragingly, the five major racecourses managed by France Galop (Auteuil, Chantilly, Deauville, ParisLongchamp and Saint-Cloud) posted an 11% increase in attendance at mid-season with more than 200,000 visitors this year.

“Since the beginning of my mandate, I have had a clear ambition: to put racing back in the hearts of the French,” said  de Saint-Seine. “With Les Chevaux dans la Ville, France Galop is taking a new step by leaving the racecourse to meet the public, in an emblematic place, the Place de la Concorde, to share the passion and know-how of our industry, in all its diversity.”

“Horses in the City is also the start of the countdown to the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe,” said Arnaud de Seyssel, vice-president of the Comite du Galop and president of the Conseil du Plat. “A mythical race, five times crowned the best race in the world, which brings together the best horses and jockeys on the planet at ParisLongchamp.”

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