Longchamp Racecourse or, in French, Hippodrome de Longchamp, is set in 57 hectares on the outskirts of the French capital, Paris, between the Bois de Boulogne and the River Seine. Horse racing first took place at Longchamp in 1857, but nowadays the racecourse with the prestigious Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, run over 2,400 metres (just over a mile and a half) on the first Sunday in October each year. In total, Longchamp Racecourse stages 29 Flat fixtures between April and October, which include no fewer than 16 Group 1 races.

Course Characteristics

Longchamp Racecourse is famous for its variety of interlaced courses, ranging in length from 1,000 metres (approximately five furlongs) to 2,750 metres (approximately a mile and threequarters). The 2,400 metre course is characterised by a hill, which climbs to a height of 30 metres, or nearly 100 feet, alongside the Bois De Boulogne and the so-called false straight, fully 800 metres (approximately half a mile) from the winning post. With the exception of the straight 1,000 metre course, on which the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp is run, all the courses at Longchamp are right-handed.

Track Facts

The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was first run in 1920 to celebrate the Allied victory in World War I.

The last horse to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe twice was Alleged, trained by Vincent O’Brien and ridden by Lester Piggott, in 1978.

Frankie Dettori, winner of the British Flat Jockeys’ Championship in 1994, 1995 and 2004, was handed a six-month by the France Galop, the French racing authority, after testing positive for cocaine while riding at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe trials meeting at Longchamp in September 2012. As far as world racecourses go, it’s certainly up there as one to visit!

Randwick, or officially ‘Royal’ Randwick, Racecourse is situated in the suburbs of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia, just three miles from the city centre. The racecourse was originally established in its current location, on Botany Road, Randwick, in 1833 but, after a stuttering start, came under the auspices of the Australian Jockey Club in 1860. In 2010, Randwick underwent a controversial redevelopment at a cost of A$150 million to the New South Wales taxpayer. Today, Randwick is famous as the home of the Australian Derby, run over 2,400 metres, or approximately a mile and a half, on the second Saturday in April each year. The Australian Derby takes place a week after the Golden Slipper at nearby Rosehill Gardens racecourse.

Course Characteristics

Randwick has the distinction of being the oldest and longest racecourse in New South Wales. The racecourse is designed in traditional Australian fashion, that is, with four straights connected by four bends to form a rectangle 2,200 metres, or a mile and three furlongs, around. The course is characterised by wide, sweeping bends and an uphill home straight 410 metres, or two furlongs, in length. Races up to a mile start on series of chutes, which require runners to travel up to three furlongs, or more, before negotiating the turn into the home straight and tend to favour those drawn on the inside.

Track Facts

The inaugural running of the Australian Derby, originally the AJC Randwick Derby Stakes, took place in 1861.

In the 1961 Australian Derby, jockey Mel Schumacher, who rode the first past the post, Blue Era, was banned for life (subsequently reduced to six years) for grabbing the leg of Tommy Hill, rider of runner-up Summer Fair. Schumacher’s actions were captured by the head-on camera used for the first time at Randwick that day.

Peter Moody’s unbeaten mare Black Caviar recorded the twenty-fifth, and final, victory of her career in the T.J. Smith Stakes at Randwick on April 13, 2013.

Woodbine Racecourse, formerly known as ‘New’ Woodbine Racecourse, is set in 650 acres on the outskirts of Toronto, the largest city in Canada. The racecourse originally opened in 1956, but under the auspices of the Woodbine Entertainment Group, formerly the Ontario Jockey Club, has undergone major redevelopment in recent years. Woodbine is famous as the home of the Canadian International Stakes, run over a mile and a half in October each year.

Course Characteristics

Since 1994 Woodbine has consisted of three racecourses, arranged concentrically. The outer turf course, known as the E.P. Taylor Course, is 1½ miles circumference with 4% banking on the bends and a home straight approximately two furlongs in length. Inside the turf course, the synthetic Polytrack course is one mile in circumference with 6% banking on the bends and a home straight of less than 1½ furlongs. Inside the Polytrack course lies the so-called Standardbred course, which is used for harness racing, is 8¾ furlongs in circumference and consists of fine-grained rock surface, known as traprock, on a crushed limestone base.

Track Facts

U.S. Triple Crown winner Secretariat ran his last race in the Canadian International Stakes in 1973. His winning margin of 6½ lengths remains the widest in the history of the race.

In 1988, the Arlington Million was run at Woodbine while Arlington Park was being rebuilt.

Harness racing was introduced to Woodbine racecourse in 1994.

In 1996, Woodbine became the first racecourse outside the United States to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.