Sport
June 2014Prix du Jockey Club
A major highlight on the French racing calendar, this event takes place at the majestic Chantilly racecourse. Sometimes known as the 'French Derby' it - along with the Irish Derby and the Epsom Derby - is one of the three great events of the spring flat-racing season.
The racecourse is set within 65 acres of ground adjacent to the chateau belonging to the former fiefdom of the Prince of Condé. The inaugural race meeting took place there in 1834, while the Prix du Jockey Club, modelled on the Epsom Derby, saw its debut there in 1836.
The Prix du Jockey Club is a race for three-year-olds; each year the cream of the new crop is raced over 10.5 furlongs (1.5 miles). The starters are always drawn from the most prestigious international stables, and the event attracts the world's best jockeys.
In between each race the crowd is entertained by the pageantry of the Republican Guard, whose colourful horseback parade is a highlight of the event.
Chantilly is a horse-orientated town, and its Living Museum of the Horse is one of the most visited equine venues in the world.
