“Not a race but a monument.” The Qatar Grand Prix Arc de Triomphe’s slogan was adopted over a decade ago in 2003 but has never been as fitting.
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The 94th edition of Europe’s most iconic flat horse race will be followed by a billion viewers worldwide on October 3-4, keen to witness history on the turf where odds-on favorite Treve aims at an unprecedented treble, and in the stands where 40,000 spectators will bid a temporary farewell to the Longchamp racecourse in Paris’ Western suburbs.
The race’s format has remained unchanged throughout the years, held on the first Sunday of October and starting next to the historical windmill dating back to 1857 before a right-hand bend takes participants to the finishing line after 2,400 metres.
Its stakeholders on the other hand have varied over time in accordance with the economic shift from Europe to the emerging markets, particularly in the Gulf region.
Known as L’Arc, it was created in the wake of World War I and named after the arch atop Champs Elysees Avenue where Allied troops paraded to celebrate their victory. A symbol of France’s prestige, this arch was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806 after the Austerlitz victory that constituted the pinnacle of his political might over the European continent.
Criquette Head-Maarek taking nothing for granted as Treve targets a third Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe victory. pic.twitter.com/RcWv9XxGgg
— PA Stables (@PA_Stables) September 14, 2015
L’Arc’s relationship with France’s key political and industrial stakeholders was progressively established in the 1920s and 1930s, the country’s most powerful families investing in thoroughbred horse race and competing by proxy to establish their prevalence.
Among the pioneering horse owners stood Edouard de Rothschild, who won twice in the interwar period with Brantome in 1934 and Eclair au Chocolat in 1938, both of whom would later be seized by the Nazis during World War II. The race’s two-year hiatus in 1939 and 1940 was its only interruption throughout a 95-year history.
Another prominent French industrialist distinguished himself during that period: Marcel Dussac, owner of Maison Dior, who holds the all-time record with six victories from horses he owned from 1936 to 1949.
A year before Dussac’s first victory, in 1935, the race started being financed by the French state who funded L’Arc through a national lottery awarding up to 50 million francs (Dh6.2m in today’s currency) to the winners.
This system lasted until 1982, when private companies took over sponsorship and incrementally led to the race becoming the world’s richest turf race at that time.
Initial sponsors for the event in the 1980s and 1990s included Trusthouse Forte, a now-defunct British hotel and restaurant conglomerate, to Groupe Lucien Barrière, a French group generating over a billion euros in revenue out of the operation of casinos.
Although sponsors remained European, horse owners from outside the Old Continent increasingly engraved their names on L’Arc trophy.
Middle Eastern fortunes increasingly mixed up with traditional French industrial champions such as Chanel owner Jacques Wertheimer, whose horses Ivanjica and Gold River won in 1976 and 1980.
Khalid bin Abdullah, member of the House of Saud ruling over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, took two consecutive editions in 1985 and 1986.
Less than a decade later in 1994, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of UAE and ruler of Dubai, celebrated the victory of his horse Carnegie, ridden by Thierry Jarnet. His nephew Sheikh Saeed won in 1995 with Lammtarra so that the L’Arc trophy would stay in Dubai one more year, a sign of the times.
It is no surprise in light of these developments that the Al-Thani family ruling over Qatar took an interest in L’Arc as an opportunity to build on a century-old tradition of horse racing on the peninsula.
In 2008, France Galop (the governing body of horse racing in the country) signed a 15-year partnership agreement with the Qatar Equestrian and Racing Club, chaired by Mohamed Bin Faleh Al Thani. Under the terms of this agreement, the race was renamed Qatar Grand Prix Arc de Triomphe and prize money doubled from €2m (Dh8.3m) in 2007 to €4m (Dh16.5m) in 2010 before being upgraded to €5m (Dh20m).
An interesting case of regional balance of power transcribed to the sports field, L’Arc is now only second to the Dubai World Cup (with a yearly purse of $10m –Dh36.7m) as the world’s richest horse race.
Qatar’s hold has been extended from sponsorship to horse ownership, the Emir’s younger brother Joaan Al Thani purchasing Treve in 2013.
The French bay filly that had not found a bidder at an auction months earlier, and was re-purchased by its breeder for €22,000 (Dh91,000), won that year’s L’Arc at a canter by five lengths and repeated the feat the following year partnered on both occasions with Jarnet, the jockey who 21 years ago led Sheikh Mohammed’s Carnegie to victory.
Treve’s unique abilities were underlined once again in the Prix Vermeille last week and confirmed not just her status as odds-on favorite, but her importance to the race’s commercialization.
The Longchamp racecourse was adorned with #FollowTreve hashtags and its marketing impact has clearly been felt. After its 2014 victory, UK broadcaster Channel 4 reported a 17 per cent year-on-year increase in TV ratings entirely attributed to Treve’s double.
“We have witnessed increased interest from people who do not necessarily follow horse races but are looking for stars, and Treve is a star,” says France Galop president Bertrand Belinguier.
Treve can now complete a historical treble that would also witness Jarnet becoming the first jockey to win L’Arc five times. The reputational windfall for Qatar and the Al Thani family who own Treve would be substantial in a context of regional rivalry. One can imagine the dismay that may surround the stands if this projected hat-trick is thwarted by New Bay, the race’s second-favourite, owned by Khalid Abdullah of the House of Saud.
This regional competition between resource-rich Gulf states on the wet turf of Longchamp is an illustration of how GCC has invested in past years to acquire prestige by tying up with events and brands that have strong name equity.
The progressive appropriation of a ‘monumental’ race, whose symbolic value once reflected France’s prestige, is now a showcase of the Gulf region’s power reflecting the diverging economic fortunes experienced in Europe and the Middle East in past decades.
Hours after the race ends, wrecking crews will demolish the Longchamp stands dating back to 1962 to make way for a modernised venue. The France Galop board submitted a €131m (Dh543m) plan last January to the Paris municipality that will witness the setting up of a synthetic dirt track to increase the number of races throughout the year and boost attendance by 35 per cent.
“It would be great to open ourselves to everyone and reach a new audience,” said Christiane Head-Maarek, Treve’s trainer.
Concerns around the investors behind the project delayed the city council’s decision. In the end France Galop pledged to use its own equity and a banking loan from a national institution to retain the venue’s independence.
In the meantime, the 2016 edition of L’Arc will be held in Chantilly while works are ongoing at Longchamp. Winds of change will clearly be blowing on the first Sunday of October.
