Paris - A Day at the Races

Can You Pronounce Auteuil?
I first came to Auteuil (say "oh-toy") last summer to practice golf. It's a turf horse-racing track that has a driving range in its center. See that story here. No golfing allowed today - there was a horserace - and we were here to see turf racing and steeplechase - a first for both of us.

Both Auteuil and the more famous Longchamp track are located on the western edge of Paris, near the Bois de Bolougne, a large park just outside the peripherique (the highway that encircles the city.) The large green space on the left of the map is the Bois - you can see Longchamp at the bottom left of the Bois and Auteuil is not marked on the map but is the grey oval that is at the bottom right of the Bois, just to the right of the peripherique. Roland Garros, where the French Open is held, is just 200 meters from Auteuil. I live in the 3rd, above the word "Paris" on the map. We took the #10 metro there, about a 30 minute ride.

Dodo was wearing a crazy outfit - multicolored reversible pants and a miniature backpack she got in Tokyo. As we bought our entry tickets some Frenchmen stopped her "You Japanese? You know the jockies? Their accents were strong "Zhok-ay? Zhok-ay?" one of them kept asking, making horseriding jestures. Pingles confused them more by answering no in Japanese. They were obviously looking for some inside info for betting.

Auteuil is a huge oval with two criss-crossing tracks that allow for a figure eight configuration. It looks clear from above but can be confusing when the race starts. You're never sure where they're going to race - around the oval? Through the figure eight? Both?

We got there about thirty minutes before the first race and took a look around. One of the first things I noticed is the small building that is perfectly aligned with the finish line. So French - it's a restaurant - a fancy one - and unless you book a meal there you cannot see the finish line from high-up.

We walked over to the stables and watched as the horses were groomed and walked. A doctor was there checking each of them with a temperature gauge - presumably an anti-cheating measure, but I'm not exactly sure.

We learned that you can watch the horses and jockeys for the upcoming race circle around a small oval just before the race begins. There were many smartly-dressed folks inside the oval, the owners we guessed.

We found a booth inside the track that was for rookies like us. It was there to help non-bettors bet for the first time. Little did they know they would be teaching betting rookies both how to bet and how to say it in French. We kept it simple, we learned how to bet to win and to place (top three.) There is no "show" bet over here. So, you walk up to the window and say something like this "Bonjour. Numero cinq, placé, cinq euros." That is, number 5, to place, 5 Euros. I picked a long-shot based on the money bet to that point - I'd seen that on a monitor. Pingles picked her horse based on its name and was pissed to learn it was the favorite - she doesn't like favorites.

As soon as we had our tickets we rushed to grab seats high up in the stands. The horses were warming up and then they were off. There was a large monitor to follow the action because unless they were right in front of the stands you couldn't see who was leading. Depending on the length of each race, a different track configuration is used. In the first race they started near a turn, raced away from us, cut inside one of the criss-cross tracks, ran by us, around the turn, down the back straight, through the same criss-cross track to the finish. They leapt each barrier with ease and turf was flying everywhere. My horse came by us, early in the race, in the lead. "No" I was yelling. "Don't be a front-runner!!"

Amazingly, my horse, named Crios, kept front-running all the way to the finish! I'd picked a long-shot to come through. Pingle's horse, the favorite came in 7th, I believe. I was paid 31 Euros for my 5 Euro bet. Had I played him to win, I would've gotten 180 Euros.

We stayed for two more races. They both employed an interesting start. They would saunter to the finish line, make a 180 degree turn into a roped-off area and once the front rope was dropped they took off. If you click on this photo you may be able to see the three front ropes that stretch from the men on the ladder in the background.

I tried to capture the start on video but it didn't come out too well. Hopefully you can see it. At the end of the day we only won that first race. I came away with 15 Euros of gains to offset Pingle's 30 Euro loss. It was a fun learning experience.