After months of lock down, the wait is finally over. French racing has been given the green light to resume racing after the government in conjunction with the police and health authorities deemed it safe to resume, but it comes with stringent measures.
As part of the first phase, France Galop will not allow foreign horses or jockeys to compete unless they permanently reside in France. Races will be run behind closed doors with access granted only to necessary stable staff. Owners and connections will also be denied access.
The doors will reopen at Longchamp on Monday and are set to feature four Group races, with France Galop president Edouard de Rothschild taking to twitter to share the news.
“We obtained and received from the Prefecture de Police de Paris the authorisation to resume racing on May 11. This is very good news and a real victory!” he said.
Olivier Delloye, chief executive of France Galop, admitted his relief at clearing that particular hurdle.
“I was very much relieved by the news we got this morning.
“As we already announced, we have had some strong support from the ministers in charge of the french racing – the ministers for finance and agriculture – so it was more a question of local areas allowing us to proceed.
“We have explained in close detail how we will race behind closed doors and we have had positive feedback from them.”
However the entirety of the nation’s capital of Paris is considered a ‘red zone’ in terms of COVID-19 lock down categorisation by the French government. In a map revealed by health minister Olivier Veran, French regions have been defined as green, orange or red zones, with green locations likely to see their lockdown restrictions lifted earlier than red areas.
Longchamp sits within the red zone, however has been cleared by local authorities under strict conditions for the french racing.
“The response is pretty positive, provided that we comply with the rules that we are implementing ourselves. These have been designed with the local authorities regarding the way we operate behind closed doors.” Delloye said.
Last month French Galop outlined amendments to the spring racing calendar, in particular the reshuffling of several Group 1 races.
The French 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas will take place Monday, June 1. The Coolmore Prix Saint-Alary and Prix Ganay will be run on June 14, the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud on June 28 and the French Derby and Oaks a week later on July 5. The Prix d’Ispahan has been moved to July 19 and, for this season only, is open to three-year-olds.
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