Longchamp, the first Sunday in October, and the race that settles the European season
The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat race in France, open to thoroughbreds aged three years and older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris over 2,400 metres — a mile and a half — and is scheduled each autumn, usually on the first Sunday in October. It has been sponsored by Qatar since 2008.
It was conceived at a committee meeting on 24 January 1920 as a showcase for French thoroughbred breeding, designed to complement the Grand Prix de Paris, and with one distinguishing principle: every horse would compete on equal terms, unpenalised for previous victories. The first running took place on Sunday 3 October 1920 and was won by Comrade, a three-year-old colt. Its prestige now draws entries and spectators from across the world.
The distance and the shape of the season conspire against favourites. The Arc gathers the best three-year-olds from the English, Irish, and French classics against older horses at their peak, over a trip that is too far for a miler and too short for a stayer, on autumn ground in Paris that can change completely in a week.
The record shows how difficult that is. No horse has ever won it three times. Only eight have won it twice across more than a century — Ksar, Motrico, Corrida, Tantième, Ribot, Alleged, Treve, and Enable. Frankie Dettori is the leading jockey with six victories. When the Hippodrome de Longchamp was being rebuilt, the 2016 and 2017 editions were run at Chantilly instead, and the fastest winning time on record was set there.
Tell us which October and we will arrange Longchamp, both days of the card, and Paris around them
The most significant rule change in the modern history of the race has just been made. In June 2026 France Galop announced the removal of the restriction on geldings entering the Arc, with effect from 2027, and the decision was formally approved by the European Pattern Committee later that year.
The restriction had existed because the race has always been regarded as a promotion of thoroughbred breeding, and a gelding cannot contribute to a stud book. In the two years before the decision, Goliath and Calandagan — both among the best middle-distance horses in training — were unable to run. From 2027 the field will genuinely represent the best in Europe rather than the best that happens to be eligible, and the race will be harder to win than it has ever been.
Clients who follow flat racing take the Arc as the closing chapter of a season that begins in England. We arrange the Epsom Derby in early June, Royal Ascot and its Gold Cup later that month, and Glorious Goodwood at the end of July. Corporate hosting at Longchamp runs through our Business Concierge team.
Longchamp sits in the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, which is the single fact that determines how the day works. The course is inside the city and surrounded by parkland, so the approach is through trees rather than motorway, and the walk from the gates to the stands is part of the occasion.
The course itself is a puzzle. Longchamp holds several interlaced tracks varying from 1,000 to 4,000 metres, with forty-six different starting posts, and a hill that is a genuine test for a thoroughbred. It stages more than half of all the Group 1 races run in France and holds 50,000 people. Racing has taken place there since 27 April 1857.
It is also, unlike Ascot or Goodwood, entirely urban. You can be back in the centre of Paris within half an hour of the last race, which is why the Arc is the easiest of the major race meetings to combine with a normal weekend in a city.
That combination is the argument for it. Two afternoons of the best racing in Europe, a short drive from the middle of Paris, in the first week of October when the city is at its best.
In the autumn, usually on the first Sunday in October, at Longchamp in Paris.
2,400 metres, a mile and a half, for thoroughbreds aged three and older.
No. Eight horses have won it twice, most recently Treve and Enable.
The 2016 and 2017 editions moved there while Longchamp was being rebuilt.
Geldings will be allowed to run for the first time, following a France Galop decision announced in June 2026.
Three to four months for hospitality at the course, and the same for a good hotel in Paris that weekend.
Yes, France Galop confirms the fixture two years out, with the 2026 running on 4 October and 2027 on 3 October.
Yes, the complete name credits both the Arc de Triomphe monument and Longchamp, its Paris racecourse home.
Qatar Arc weekend at Longchamp includes several Group races and a Saturday card the day before, drawing racegoers across the city for two full days.
Early autumn rain is common, so the going can turn soft by race day, favouring stamina over pure speed.
Yes, the field regularly includes leading horses trained in Britain, Ireland, Germany and Japan alongside the French contingent.
