The Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte at 1 avenue de la Pelouse in the northwestern
Paris
Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
ian suburb of
Maisons-Laffitte in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
was a
turf horse 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 ...
facility and
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
for
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 ...
flat racing. Opened in 1878 by
Joseph Oller, inventor of the
pari-mutuel
Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winni ...
machine, it sits on 92 hectares that belonged to the wealthy banker
Jacques Laffitte.
The nearby
Château de Maisons-Laffitte is home to The Museum of the Racehorse.
In November 2018
France Galop
France Galop is the governing body of flat and steeplechase horse racing in France. It was founded on May 3, 1995, as the result of the amalgamation of four different industry organizations. Prominent owner/breeder Jean-Luc Lagardère was elected ...
announced that the racecourse would close at the end of 2019 due to financial pressures on the organisation. The final meeting was held on 29th October 2019. Despite the efforts of local government officials there are no plans to re-open the track and the racing surface has been allowed fall into disrepair.
The racecourse layout was unique as it was one of the few courses in the world that staged both left- and right-handed races. It also featured a 2,000-metre straight track, one of the longest in Europe and three different winning posts.
From early March through to the end of November, the major annual
Conditions races at Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte were:
*
Prix Eugène Adam
*
Prix Robert Papin
*
Prix Messidor
The Prix Messidor is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled t ...
*
La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte
*
Prix Eclipse
The Prix Eclipse is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place eac ...
*
Prix de Seine-et-Oise
The Prix de Seine-et-Oise is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it ...
*
Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte
The Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is sche ...
*
Prix Miesque
References
External links
France Galop website for Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte(French language)
Sports venues completed in 1878
Maisons
Maisons
Buildings and structures in Yvelines
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