The horse racing world will have its eyes riveted on the Vincennes racecourse this Sunday, January 26 for the 104th Prize of America that 18 will compete for crack trotters. Drivers, trainers, owners: all dream of winning the Grail: a world champion title in harness trotting.
But before setting off, many horses are in Grosbois, about fifteen kilometers from Vincennes (Val-de-Marne), southeast of Paris. This area, nicknamed the “Clairefontaine of the horse”offers 430 hectares entirely dedicated to horses and trotter training.
With the Château de Grosbois in the spotlight, this area with its many hiking trails allows trainers to work peacefully all year round. And for good reason, some 1,500 horses are present in Grosbois during the winter. Around 60 coaches are present here all year round.
At the end of the morning, the ten or so horses participating in the Prix d’Amérique will take the road towards the Vincennes racecourse. After fifteen to twenty minutes of transport, depending on traffic, they will wait two to three hours before setting off, between moments of rest in their boxes and walks.
40,000 people expected
Nicolas Bazire, who has already won 69 races as a trainer including the Prix d’Amérique three years ago and 245 races as a driver, is not changing anything in his routine. “Personally, we prepare as usual. It’s a day of racing. We did our work in the morning. […] Prepare the horses, work. As usual, like every day,” he said calmly.
The horses were fed between 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. “Afterwards, we leave them alone for a bit. Then we start to take care of them, let them go out, go to the track, work for some, let them walk for others,” he continues. Objective: calm the horses as much as possible before entering the racecourse. “There are still a lot of people in the stands. It’s really a special day and you can feel it. You can feel an angry horse“, explains Nicolas Bazire.
But if he is not one of the favorites, he will want just “have fun”. “We know the horse is going to have a great race. If we can have the race we want, that would be perfect,” he concludes.
-The race kicks off at 4:20 p.m. and will be broadcast on M6. More than 40,000 people are expected at the Vincennes racecourse.
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