Julien Phelippon: “GPIs are the cancer of racing”

Paris Turf: You resumed your coaching license in September 2022 after an 18-month interruption, how do you view this return?

Julien Phelippon: To be honest, I never imagined that the results could be this good. I am proud of my team, led by my manager, Paul Aeschelmann, who works hard. Everyone plays a specific and valuable role. We work on average with 15 horses. We have exceeded 30 winners in 2023 and 2024. We will try to further increase the results thanks to loyal clients who follow me in investments. I would like to diversify by training young horses and, why not, try a bit of jumping.

Are you worried as a professional about the poor PMU figures?

Worried, that’s a weak word! I am devastated, especially since most of my colleagues have little knowledge of these issues. However, it is essential. I have the image of a tsunami arriving on the horizon while we continue to quietly picnic on the beach. The next step is the reduction in benefits. And if that happens, it will be a disaster. The coaching pyramid will collapse from the bottom and, in less than 3 years, we could find ourselves in the same state as all our European neighbors.

Can Quinté+ be relaunched? If yes how?

As it stands, it seems impossible to me for three main reasons: it is far too taxed with a TRJ (player return rate, editor’s note) so low that it gives bettors no chance. This is disappointing on all levels of reporting. It does not offer any hope of a real big gain comparable to the games of the FDJ (Française des Jeux). Finally, the same game is, in my opinion, not suitable for both disciplines, because trotting often offers very readable races which generate starving relationships.

In your opinion, did the PMU do the right thing in excluding Grands Parieurs Internationaux (GPI) from the Quinté+ offer? Should we go further and exclude them from other games?

GPIs are the cancer of racing. They are slowly killing horse racing betting in France under the passive eye of the organizers and the regulator… They are sucking money from the best French players with procedures that border on illegality. The worst is that it has completely damaged the operator’s image among players, who are, normally, the best ambassadors of the brand. Today, if you do an opinion poll among historical punters, you will see the scale of the disaster.

If you were the boss of PMU, what new game would you launch tomorrow?

Above all, my philosophy is based on one pillar: less tax on more volume of issues. This promotes recycling. We have done quite the opposite for ten years by constantly lowering the TRJ. Then, I would ban the release of new games exclusively on the internet, because the market share is too low, so they are doomed in advance. Finally, having an IT system agile enough to test new things would be a luxury that we can no longer really do without.

While you supported Cyril Linette at the time in the strategy consisting of reducing the offer (in terms of races and betting), are you disappointed with the results recorded in terms of horse racing stakes, the operator not recording not the expected rebound?

What appealed to me about Cyril Linette’s politics was that he had a real short and long term vision. The strategy he relied on until his departure was a good one. Just like the numbers. When it comes to horse racing betting, the more time passes, the stronger my conviction becomes. Gambling policy should be decided by people who have extensive betting experience. It is an extremely particular universe which, in my opinion, completely escapes the uninitiated.

What is your view on the new strategy presented by the Marketing Director of the PMU, Olivier Pribile in ParisTurf, namely to make the PMU once again a multi-activity player?

Unfortunately, I am not competent enough to answer you but, intuitively, when an article causes such dissatisfaction among the punters to whom it is addressed, it is because there is a big fundamental problem. If PMU’s growth prospects are based on scratching, virtual races or sports betting, I tell myself that we are in very bad shape. In my opinion, we will have to be more ambitious and imaginative on the “racing” product to hope to reverse the curve.

On social networks, we often notice your dissatisfaction about a lack of alternation between trotting and galloping when taking bets, particularly on Saturdays. Can you tell us more?

Today, the calendar is made according to traditions and wishes which seem inaudible to me in times of crisis and which no longer make it possible to optimize the issues. We see that players, especially the bigger ones, are attached to a discipline. At a gallop, between the flat and the obstacle, they are already not the same. We should start from a blank page, outside of the classic program, in order to build the product that will please punters the most and which will allow revenues to be maximized by taking this type of development into account. I still see that some racecourses have too many meetings, because they are simply carried out by a well-placed person in the institution. There are also regions that are much better served than others and this leads to empty trips. This needs to be rebalanced urgently. The number of races should be allocated solely based on geographic numbers and not politically.

Should handicaps, which have the most stakes, be boosted more in terms of allocations compared to group races which generate less revenue, because they bring together fewer starters?

No. I love the French balance which benefits everyone in terms of programs and allocations. I think it needs to be preserved. On the other hand, we have increased the number of handicaps on the flat too much to boost the average number of starters. In my opinion, it is more important to try to win starters in hollow races, rather than doing too many races that are difficult for punters to decipher. Because the risk is to “wring them out” and make them disgusted very quickly. Furthermore, I find that we must be in solidarity with the obstacle that is struggling in terms of issues, but on one condition: that everything is put in place to improve. How can we still justify that the percentage of handicaps on the flat is significantly higher than on the obstacle course? It’s unfair.

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You are a fan of the claimers’ market. What did you think of the new measure put in place by France Galop which allows bulletins to be posted online?

We have been waiting for this for a long time and it is a great success. Congratulations to the France Galop teams who were able to put it in place. It’s much more practical. Ultimately, this should increase the number of transactions. This is positive for the economy.

Do you have any other ideas to boost this category which has not been very popular lately?

Many claimants have been removed, so the specialists in this market have disappeared. But it was a mistake that the institution made. Not everyone can invest in yearlings. For small and medium budgets, who would like to start in ownership, it is an excellent way to experience emotions quickly.

You also follow the trot very closely. Do you have a favorite for the Prix d’Amérique?

I am passionate about trotting and its actors. Besides, I think the racecourse I frequent the most is none other than that of Vincennes. I don’t have a particular favorite but, as is often the case in great races, above all I want the race to go smoothly in order to allow the best to win.

What should the gallop be inspired by the trot?

The links between the public and socio-professionals are much stronger on the trot. I think we need to improve and be ambassadors of our races to the general public, in order to better educate spectators about our profession. I also find that trotting has also been able to develop its program of major events and it is a success. At a gallop, we are totally blocked by agreements with the “pattern”. This prevents us from arranging our program as common sense would require.

Is there a project that is particularly close to your heart for the 2025 season?

Yes, confirm the reopening of Maisons-Laffitte. It is a fight that the entire institution should lead together, to make it a totem, because since its closure we have never managed to replace it in an acceptable way. There is a severe lack of a regular straight line in Paris, especially for 2-year-olds. The stakes are excellent and obtaining its reopening would be a strong symbol for the competitiveness of French racing.

To conclude, are you confident about the future of racing?

For horse racing betting, I will be sincere, nothing that is proposed seems to me capable of stopping the decline in stakes. And, as a punter, I am bored with horse racing betting as it is not very innovative, especially if we compare it to sports betting. In the crowds at the races, I saw things that excited me. The Prix de Cornulier (Gr. I) with “la Folie Douce” was a great success. The Pau racecourse, which is a model, created a warm atmosphere. The free entry and quality catering at an affordable price have increased the number of visitors, which is simply astonishing. Oddly enough, common sense ideas work. If the stakes are the essence of racing, it is on the racetracks that we convey the best image of our sport. And, therefore, that we have the best chance of recruiting future punters and owners. So let’s reinvent races on racecourses, particularly in Paris, in order to make them popular, festive and friendly places again. Not just for the Grands Prix, but every day. The new mandate of France Galop has big plans. I wish it for us. My wish for 2025 is that the musical setting will be a great success.

His starter for Friday and his horses to follow

“The Initiatewho will take part in the first race this Friday in Deauville, places often, but so far lacks the will to win. He has already done well on this track and should last 3,400 meters. On the other hand, in the future, I don’t really have any downgraded horses. During each race, we try to obtain the best possible results. In the coming weeks, Larcin, Mister Jules, I’m lost or Working should find some interesting races. Ferrari Fever, Central Park West et Eywawho are our heroes of 2024, are still in great condition, but the commitments are logically more difficult now.”