Arc will be open to geldings from 2027 after major rule change

Next year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe will be open to geldings after the European Pattern Committee approved a proposal from France Galop that will see a significant change to Europe’s premier middle-distance contest.

Staged on the first Sunday in October, the ParisLongchamp showpiece attracts some of the best horses from around the world, but the decision to bar geldings from the race has been the subject of much debate for several years.

High-profile recent examples of top-class geldings who may have otherwise run in the race include Francis-Henri Graffard’s pair of Goliath and Calandagan, with the latter ending last year as the world’s highest-rated racehorse after winning the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, the King George and the Champion Stakes at Ascot and becoming the first overseas runner in 20 years to win the Japan Cup.

“The European Pattern Committee’s decision is an important milestone in the consultation and decision-making process initiated by France Galop,” said France Galop president Guillaume de Saint-Seine in the wake of the meeting in Berlin.

“The EPC’s support confirms the soundness of our approach. Opening the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe to geldings is driven by a straightforward objective: to ensure that France’s greatest race brings together the best horses – colts, fillies and, from 2027, geldings. We are convinced that this change will make the race even more compelling on the track and further strengthen its international profile and media appeal.”

Despite the confidence of France Galop officials, leading figures in the racing world such as Aidan O’Brien, Andre Fabre and John Magnier spoke out against it when news of the proposal first emerged.

Speaking after seeing Benvenuto Cellini win the Irish Derby at the Curragh, Magnier said: “I hope they don’t let the geldings into the Arc. I think most of the purists would be against it.

“There are two sides to every coin, but I’m only giving it from the breeding side and from the breed as a whole. The Arc is one of the real races and it won’t be any more if you include geldings.

“My father-in-law (Vincent O’Brien) used to always say that if he was training a yard of geldings the bookmakers would be in worse trouble!”

Fabre has won the Arc on a record eight occasions. Speaking after France Galop board members have voted to remove the restrictions from 2027 in June, he said: “I am firmly against it – I cannot see any benefit.

“It is true that the last few winners have not gone on to be successful stallions, apart from Sea The Stars (2009), but we need more stallions not less.

“The Arc is always a big field so that is not the reason and will agree that a gelding is much easier to train than a colt – it is an advantage.

“I’m a big fan of tradition and do not like to break it without a serious reason. Just because there are one or two horses horses who are better gelded, it would be a shame.”