A Century of Paris's Greatest Race

Sixteen horses line up today at Longchamp for the 105th Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Europe's richest and most prestigious flat race, run continuously since 1920.

Today at 3:05 p.m. local time, Longchamp Racecourse in Paris hosts the 105th running of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, widely regarded as the most prestigious horse race in the world. First run on October 3, 1920, named for the nearby Arc de Triomphe monument that had hosted an Allied victory parade the previous year, the race has grown into Europe's richest flat race, carrying a €5 million purse and drawing the finest thoroughbreds, trainers, and jockeys from across the globe.

Defending a Crown, Breaking a Barrier

Sixteen runners go to post today, headlined by last year's winner, Daryz, trained by Francis-Henri Graffard and ridden by Mickael Barzalona, who will attempt to become the race's first repeat winner since Treve's back-to-back victories in 2013 and 2014. He faces a formidable field, including Aidan O'Brien's unbeaten filly Diamond Necklace, suffering her first career defeat only in her final prep race; Kalpana, carrying a rating higher than recent Arc winners Found, Alpinista, and Bluestocking; and a Japanese challenge led by Meisho Tabaru, a two-time Takarazuka Kinen winner making the long trip from Tokyo. As one senior form analyst put it ahead of the race, Daryz has worn the mantle of defending champion well all season, with just one notable stumble along the way.

This year's race also carries a quieter piece of institutional history. In June, France Galop announced that beginning in 2027, geldings will be permitted to compete in the Arc for the first time since the race's founding — ending a restriction that has stood for the entire 105-year history of the event. Today's running will be the last conducted under the old rule, a fitting bookend for a race whose entire identity has rested on being, in its organizers' own words, open to the very best horses in the world, with one narrow exception now finally closing.

Thoroughbred racehorses galloping down the home stretch of an elegant European racecourse

Sixteen of the world's finest thoroughbreds contest today's 105th Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp.

For more than a century, the first Sunday in October has belonged to this race, surviving two world wars, a wartime relocation to alternate venues, and decades of evolving international competition, to remain the race every great European thoroughbred's career is ultimately measured against. Whatever happens on the track this afternoon, today's running adds one more chapter to a race that has outlasted nearly everything else on the modern sporting calendar.