Thursday, October 29 marks the opening day of the French Winter Meeting at Vincennes, kicking off with a strong Group III event, the Prix de Cévennes.
The Prix de Cévennes is a traditional feature of the Winter Meeting’s opening card, and this year’s edition is exceptionally competitive.
Fourteen horses will line up over 2,850 meters to compete for a total purse of €90,000.
Among the starters, Iguski Sautonne, driven by Jean-Etienne Abrivard, is the most accomplished competitor. In January, the horse won the world’s most prestigious monté race, the Prix de Cornulier, and followed up in March by capturing the sprint event Gran Criterium de Vitesse at Cagnes-sur-Mer in a time of 1:50.2.
The race’s highest earner is the 8-year-old mare Inmarosa, driven by Léo Abrivard, with career earnings of €1,196,777. The race is restricted to horses with lifetime earnings of no more than €1.2 million.
The Winter Meeting will consist of 93 race days, six more than last year, and will run through March 6, 2027.
A total of 779 races will be contested, 96 more than last year. The average purse per race is €55,924, representing a modest increase of 1.51%.
Of the 779 races, 154 are open to European horses, one fewer than last year. In addition, there will be 40 international races, which are also open to U.S.-bred horses. These 194 races carry combined prize money of €16,999,000, averaging €87,623 per race.
Naturally, marquee events such as the Prix d’Amérique, Prix de France, and Prix de Paris account for a significant share of that total.
Overall, the Winter Meeting’s purse budget amounts to €43,565,000, an increase of 4.67% compared with last year, although the schedule also includes six additional race days.
The centerpiece of the Winter Meeting, the Prix d’Amérique, will be contested on Jan. 31, 2027, with its traditional purse of €1 million.
Qualifying races for the Prix d’Amérique
November 22
• Prix de Bretagne – 2,700 meters
December 13
• Prix de Bourbonnais – 2,850 meters
December 27
• Critérium Continental – 2,100 meters (autostart)
• Prix Tenor de Baune – 2,700 meters
January 3
• Prix de Bourgogne – 2,100 meters (autostart)
January 17
• Prix de Belgique – 2,850 meters
January 31
• Prix d’Amérique – 2,700 meters
February 14
• Prix de France – 2,100 meters (autostart)
February 28
• Prix de Paris – 4,150 meters