2013 Prix de Diane, Chantilly, France - Diliff

Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

for

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

Chantilly, Oise Chantilly ( , ) is a commune in the Oise department in the Valley of the Nonette in the Hauts-de-France region of Northern France. Surrounded by Chantilly Forest, the town of 10,863 inhabitants (2017) falls within the metropolitan area of Pa ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, about north of the centre of the city of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Chantilly Racecourse is located in the country's main

horse training Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when commanded to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for everyday care as well as for equestrian activities from horse ra ...

area on 65 hectares next to the Chantilly Forest. A right-handed course, it was built with interlocking tracks. The main course is 2,400 metres long, with another at 2,150 metres, plus a round course adaptable from 1,400 to 2,400 metres. The first race card at Chantilly was held on 15 May 1834 and its existing grandstand was built in 1879 by the famed architect

Honoré Daumet Pierre Jérôme Honoré Daumet (23 October 1826, Paris – 12 December 1911, Paris) was a French architect. Biography Daumet was the winner of the Prix de Rome in 1855, and in 1861 conducted a treasure-hunting expedition to Macedonia at the reque ...

, who also did the renovations to the nearby

Château de Chantilly The Château de Chantilly () is a historic French château located in the town of Chantilly, Oise, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Paris. The site comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château built around 1560 for Anne de Montmor ...

. The racecourse was constructed abutting the existing Great Stables (French:''Grandes Écuries''), built in 1719 by estate owner,

Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (Louis Henri Joseph; 18 August 1692 – 27 January 1740), was a French nobleman and politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1723 to 1726. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a '' ...

Prince of Condé A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. Designed by the architect Jean Aubert, the mammoth 186-meter-long stable is considered the most beautiful in the world. Royal_Stables_at_Chantilly

In 1886, the Duc d'Aumale donated the racecourse to the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute ...

. In 1982, the

Living Museum of the Horse The Living Museum of the Horse (french: Musée Vivant du Cheval) is a museum in Chantilly, France dedicated to equine art and culture. It is housed in the Great Stables (''Grandes Écuries'') of the Château de Chantilly, about 40 km (25&nbs ...

was created as part of the stables which was opened to the public. In July 2006, the museum was acquired by the Foundation for the Safe-keeping and Development of the Chantilly Domain, presided over by the

Aga Khan IV Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He ha ...

. During the first week of June, the racecourse hosts the

Prix du Jockey Club The Prix du Jockey Club, sometimes referred to as the French Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Chantilly over ...

, the third of the French racing season's five

Classic Races The British Classics are five long-standing Group races, Group 1 horse racing, horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. They are restricted to three-year-old horses and traditionally represent the pinnacle of achievement for r ...

. It was used as the venue for the racecourse scene in the 1985

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...

, in which racehorses owned by villainous industrialist

Max Zorin Maximillian Zorin is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1985 James Bond film '' A View to a Kill''. He is portrayed by Christopher Walken. Biography Zorin was born in Dresden around the end of World War II, after which Dresden be ...

( Christopher Walken) competed. In 2016 and 2017 in addition to Prix du Jockey Club, Chantilly hosted the prestigious

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

, which is normally run at Longchamp. The move from Longchamp was necessitated by ongoing renovation work; the race should return to its historical home in 2018.

References

External links

*
Chantilly Racecourse at France-Galop.com

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070518040009/http://www.france-galop.com/JOCKEYCLUB/gb/historique-hippodromegb.html Official history of Chantilly Racecourse(English language) {{coord, 49, 11, 30, N, 2, 28, 30, E , region:FR_type:landmark , display=title Horse racing venues in France Sports venues in Oise Tourist attractions in Oise