How the French 2-year-olds' program will be boosted in 2021

France Galop validated changes to the 2021 Flat program for 2-year-olds which will come into force on March 1, 2021. In addition to giving a 70% premium in 2021 to the owners of 2-year-olds born and/or bred in France, this plan aims to boost the numbers of young horses in training and to offer 2-year-olds new opportunities to open their account.

The value of this plan is already validated by the number of yearlings declared in training on January 1st, which shows a favourable development: 1,122 were registered, an increase of 11.8% compared to last year.

1 - The Darley Prix Morny path strengthened

With the aim of strengthening the 2-year-old program which can lead to the Darley Prix Morny, the first Group 1 for 2-year-olds in France, adjustments to the Listed and Groups program have been made:

• The Prix des Rêves d'Or (Listed) will take place on Friday, May 21, 2021, in Vichy, instead of its usual July date. This will be the first Listed for 2-year-olds in the French calendar. The Prix des Jouvenceaux et des Jouvencelles (Listed), which was contested until then in early August, will take its place in the Vichy July "Great Week" meeting.
• The Prix Yacowlef (Listed) will no longer be run in November and returns to Deauville. It will be run on Sunday, July 11, 2021, over a straight 5-furlong trip, that is three weeks before the Darley Prix de Cabourg (Group 3).
• The Prix de la Vallée d’Auge (Listed) will be run a week earlier than usual on Saturday, August 7, 2021.

In addition, the first two Black Type events for 2-year-olds of the Parisian program are also evolving. In order to make them more attractive, the Prix la Flèche (Listed) and Prix du Bois (Group 3) will respectively be added to the undercard of the Prix du Jockey Club (June 6, 2021) and the Prix de Diane Longines (June 20, 2021) . The distance of the Prix du Bois is also pushed from 5 to 6 furlongs.

2 - Maiden and Handicap Program

Creation of:

• 6 handicaps for 2-year-olds;
• 10 “Restricted Maiden” races;
• 15 Maiden races with restrictive qualifying conditions.

Out of this total of 31 races:

• 25 were claimers;
• 21 will be run in or around Paris, 10 in the regions.

a) - Creation of 6 handicaps

A handicap for 2-year-olds will be created in mid-July. In past years, the first handicap for juveniles was run at the beginning of August in Deauville.

Of the 5 other handicaps created in 2021:

• 3 will take place in the Parisian region;
• 1 in the West (there were no handicaps for 2-year-olds there in the current program);
• 1 in the South-West (no handicaps for 2-year-olds there in the current program).

b) - Restricted Maiden races: 10 races (7 around Paris, 3 in the regions)

These Maiden races will be restricted for 2-year-olds who have never won and were sired by a stallion who, at the time of conception, was siring in France or abroad for a posted price equal to or less than € 12,000.

The prize money for these races will amount to € 20,000 in Paris and € 16,000 in the regions.

c) - Maiden races open to all sires but with other restrictive conditions: 15 races (10 in the Paris region and 5 in the regions)

These new races will be Maiden races with restrictive qualifying conditions in order to allow a population of horses that may not be competitive in the “standard” Maiden program to find an opportunity to win their race. The conditions will gradually change over the months.

The allocation will be set at € 20,000 in Paris and € 16,000 in the regions.