Betting on horse races has declined in several years in France, and a cut in purses was expected.

The French governing body for harness racing, Le Trot, has announced that purses in races in 2019 will be cut by 11 percent – that is 26 million Euro.

Europe’s richest harness race for elder trotters, the Grand Prix d’Amerique, will now have a total purse of 900,000 Euro – down from one million.

The winner will get 405,000 Euro – down from 450,000 Euro.

Other big races in the Winter Meeting like the Prix de France and Prix de Paris will now each have a total purse of 350.000, down from 400,000 Euro.

The world’s richest under saddle race, Prix de Cornulier, will see a decrease from 700,000 Euro to 650,000.

Karsten Bønsdorf