The famous and prestigious French Winter meeting at Vincennes, near Paris, opened on November 3 and will run until March 5.
During the period there will be 90 race meetings at the ‘Temple of Trotting’ comprising 745 trotting races, of which 193 will be run under saddle (Monte).
The total stakemoney will be $A56.6 million, an increase of 3.3 percent from the last Winter meeting.
The average prizemoney per race will be an amazing $A76,100.
The signature event of the meeting is the Grand Prix D’Amerique, to be conducted on Sunday, January 30 over 2700 metres with a total purse of $A1.56 million.
The 11 events on the stellar Prix’Amerique card featuring three Group 1s, two Group 2 Montes and two Group 3s will offer a staggering $A3 million in prizemoney.
Face Time Bourbon, a son of the dual Prix D’Amerique winner Ready Cash and the winner of the 2019 and 2020 editions of the great race, is expected to chase a third success to join the likes of Bellino 11, Roquepine and Uranie as three-time champions.
The magnificent French stallion Ourasi won the Prix d’Amerique on a record four occasions – 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1990.
The Winter meeting will have no less than 115 races carrying a purse of at least $A100,000 during the Winter meeting.
Find out more about HRV’s Aurora Australis trotting series
A total of nine Group 1s, 23 Group 2s and 28 Group 3s have been programmed for trotters driven in harness.
There will be 32 Group races for horses under saddle including four Group 1s, 14 Group 2s and 14 Group 3s. Interestingly, about 25% of all races conducted in France are mounted events.
- Two Group 2 $A156,000 events were staged at Vincennes on Saturday afternoon (November 13) and they were won by Idylle A Vie (by Ready Cash) and Ideal Ligneries (by Repeat Love)
Photo: The crowd at the 2020 Prix d’Amerique last year.
