PRIX DE L'ARC DE TRIOMPHE 1949-64 Arthur Fitzgerald

Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe 1949 - 1978
By Arthur Fitzgerald

Published by J Allen 1982
Excellent condition with dust cover, black and white illustrations

In 1949 The Societe d'Encouragement resumed a partnership with the Loterie Nationale in order that the prize money for the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe should then be a massive 25 million francs. This financial injection made Longchamp's great autumn race by far the richest and most important weight for age race in Europe in which the relative merits of the best European thoroughbreds could be equitably compared.
This second volume of the history of what has become Europe's, and indeed the world's, most prestigious weight for age classic covers the years 1949-1964.  It begins with the victory of the brilliant filly, Coronation, surprisingly the last of Marcel Boussac's six winners. It recounts the exploits of the dual winner Tantieme, the brilliant victories of Italy's greatest champion, Ribot, and his son Molvedo, and the first Irish success with Ballymoss.
Other notable winners during this period were Exbury and Saint Crespin, though none came from England. In 1964, the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe had far outstripped the Grand Prix de Paris as France's premier classic and challengers from the United States had already taken part. It attracted an enormous and very cosmopolitan crowd every year including representatives of nearly every Jockey Club in the world. It was in this period, therefore, that the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe achieved its pre-eminence in the international racing calendar.