Also, if you go to Paris, you must visit Chantilly.  This is the main city for training horses in that area.  It is about 45 minutes from Paris (15 minutes from Charles De Gaulle).

It is just an awesome horse place ... when you see it you will know what I mean!  They have over 50 kilometers of horse training tracks spread througout a beautiful forrest.  There is a chateau (now a museum) there as well, including a horse bard built in the 1800s that is 3 blocks in size (the guy (king?) that build it thought he was going to be reincarnated as a horse, so he built this beautiful \"barn\" castle for horses).  

If you have seen the James Bond movie w/ Grace Jones and Christopher Walken (\"The World Is Not Enough\"?? I think) ... they have a 15 minute segment that is filmed at Chantilly.  Good luck and have a great time!   LR

Have a couple of horses in France and have attended races there a few times.

I\'ve found it very difficult to handicap races there.  First off, they have no info like we have (DRF, etc).  They have a publication that gives past racing info, but it is very confusing to someone who is not accustomed to it (they probably say the same about our info).

Also, interestingly, they only race a day or so at each track and then go to another venue.  No 30, 60 or 90 day meets ... just a handful of race dates throughout the year.

That being said, the racing venues there are absolutely beautiful.  All turf, of course, and immaculately maintained.  I love the racing there.

LR

First blip was 6-5 ... someone bet 30k before the race.  Total win pool at the first blip ... OW\'s 30k was more than the entire field combined.

As the owner of the horse and an avid handicapper, I wouldn\'t have bet him at those odds.  But he is a quality horse that beat Funny Cide in Jan 03 before he suffered many setbacks.  He\'ll be fine ... and best of all, he\'s not a gelding!  LR