The Haras d'Ouilly is a renowned

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...

farm in Pont-d'Ouilly,

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...

in the

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

established in the 19th century. The property was purchased in 1895 by Auguste-Louis-Albéric, prince d'Arenberg for his son

Pierre d'Arenberg Pierre d'Alcantara-Charles-Marie, prince d'Arenberg, duc d'Arenberg, (Paris 2 October 1790 – Brussels 27 September 1877). Pierre d'Alcantara Charles, was born on 2 October 1790 as 3rd son of Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg. He entered int ...

who built the stables and established it as a

operation. Haras d'Ouilly was acquired by the Louis Jean Decazes in 1916. He acquired several top broodmares and in 1918 purchased the prominent sire Prince Palatine from the English breeder

Jack Barnato Joel Isaac "Jack" Barnato Joel (29 September 1862 – 13 November 1940) was a British -South African mining magnate and a champion horse breeder. Early life Isaac Barnato Joel was born on 29 September 1862 into a Jewish family, being one of three ...

. In 1921 Decazes partnered with

François Dupré François Louis Jules Dupré (; 3 December 1888 – 26 June 1966) was a French, hotelier, art collector, and owner of the Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farm, Haras d'Ouilly in Pont-d'Ouilly. He was a grandson of the painter Jules ...

who would purchase 100% of Haras d'Ouilly in 1930. François Dupré would turn Haras d'Ouilly into a powerhouse of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an racing, running it until his death in 1966 when his widow took over. Anna Dupré continued to race horses until 1977 when she sold her bloodstock to the

Aga Khan IV Prince Karim al-Husseini (13 December 1936 – 4 February 2025), known as the Aga Khan IV, was the 49th Imamah, imam of Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Nizari Isma'ilism from 1957 until his death in 2025. He inherited the Imamate in Nizari doctrine ...

. In 1981, she sold the property to

Jean-Luc Lagardère Jean-Luc Lagardère (; 10 February 1928 – 14 March 2003) was a major French businessman, CEO of the Lagardère Group, one of the largest French conglomerates. Career Jean-Luc Lagardère was a '' Supélec'' engineer. He began his career in ...

who too was a leading figure in French racing until his death in 2003 after which it was sold to the Aga Khan IV.

References

Pont-d'Ouilly municipal website with the history of Haras d'Ouilly
(French language) French racehorse owners and breeders Horse farms in France Buildings and structures in Calvados (department) {{horseracing-stub