Flat - Qatar Arc Trials join boosted Prix du Moulin de Longchamp for an exceptional Sunday card at ParisLongchamp

FLAT RACING - QATAR ARC TRIALS JOIN BOOSTED PRIX DU MOULIN DE LONGCHAMP FOR AN EXCEPTIONAL SUNDAY CARD AT PARISLONGCHAMP

Following the European Pattern Committee meeting on Friday, 7 February 2025 at the France Galop headquarters, and an exceptional meeting of the Board of Directors on Friday, 14 February 2025, several changes to the Black Type calendar were approved. 

Those changes will greatly enhance the appeal of the meeting on Sunday, 7 September at ParisLongchamp ! As of this year, the Qatar Arc Trials – Qatar Prix Vermeille (Group1), Qatar Prix Foy (Group2) and Qatar Prix Niel (Group2) –, as well as the Qatar Prix Dragon (Group1 PA), a trial race for the Qatar Arabian World Cup (Group1 PA), have been brought forward by a week. They will now take place four instead of three weeks before the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Group1) and will feature on the same card as the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (Group1).

A fabulous Sunday meeting at ParisLongchamp

The move of the three races, known as the Qatar Arc Trials, as well as the Qatar Prix Dragon, is largely in response to the industry stakes holders’ request to have four weeks, rather than three, between the final French trials and the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, held on the first Sunday in October. 

By bringing the Qatar Arc Trials forward and including them on the same card as the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, one of the best mile events not only in Europe but in the world, the Sunday meeting at ParisLongchamp is taking on a new dimension. 

Bringing the Qatar Arc Trials forward by a week ensures that this important event at ParisLongchamp will have greater international visibility. With the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe’s position in the calendar, in the past, the Qatar Arc Trials inevitably took place the same weekend as the Irish Champion Weekend featuring the Irish Champion Stakes. It also regularly clashed with the St Leger festival at Doncaster. There was hence a great concentration of European racing over that same weekend. By bringing the Qatar Arc Trials forward by a week to the same day as the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, this meeting will now have a prominent place in the international racing calendar. 

Prize-money of the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp boosted to €800 000 

From 2025, the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp will see its prize-money boosted from €450 000 to €800 000, an increase of more than 78 %. This prestigious event over the mile, which takes place three weeks after the Prix Jacques Le Marois Aga Khan Studs, is ideally placed in the continuity of the major summer events over that distance. Worth €800 000, its prize-money reflects its status and quality and brings it in line with equivalent events in Europe. Since 2015, the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp has featured 8 times in the Longines Top 100 World’s best races, as rated by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. 

The increase of the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp prize-money has been entirely financed by the Owner’s fund. As a reminder, in 2024, France Galop changed the entry conditions for Group 1 races by bringing entry dates forward and standardising the percentage of entry fees, which boosted the Owner’s fund. This policy – extended in 2025 to Group 2 and Group 3 races – was a success : by the end of the 2024 financial year, the Owner’s fund had stabilisted and was profitable. This has created a virtuous circle that supports and boosts certain group races.