The new end to the Flat Season - how is it working out ?

Not a surprise.

The stand needs re-developing and attendances are terrible for the rest of the year. I went on the saturday last year which is a decent enough card in its own right with plenty of group races and most of the small crowd were from the UK but it was generally very quiet. When they only charge 8 euro's a throw, or nothing, and they still can't get decent attendances you know you've got a problem.
 
This paragraph is so true:

"What is expected to replace the current edifice is a facility more suited to a "normal" Longchamp crowd of a few thousand at best, with the much larger attendance on Arc day accommodated by temporary structures. It is, in a practical sense, a much more sensible approach but it is also, quite clearly, an admission of defeat. In the 1950s and 1960s, big crowds would head into the Bois on Sundays on a regular basis but those days are long gone, and the plans for Longchamp amount to a concession that they are never coming back."

Such a shame really, goes to show that cost of entry means naff all when it comes to attendances. Most of Longchamp's meetings are €4 max or free to get into.
 
I'd prefer the Arc at Chantilly, even with reduced attendance and difficulty in getting tickets, rather than Ascot. Anywhere but Ascot in fact.
 
There's a derelict stand at Auteuil that they haven't even bothered knocking down yet - and probably never will. It gives the venue a bit of a strange look when you first see it, but in the end, adds to the overall charm of the place, imo.

No such capacity worries apply to the Grande Steep or Jousellin cards. It's some of the best racing in Europe, and yet they can get barely 5000 people through the doors (with free admission and race-card).
 
so instead of trying the people go to Longchamp, they build a smaller one......

I think Longchamp is like France , something regressing.
 
I've not been to St Cloud but it drains like a sponge, however I think Maisons-Laffitte would be best suited to hosting the Arc over Chantilly. The stand at Chantilly is tiny.

There's no chance of the Arc being held at Ascot!

As I've said a million times before, if the BHA and France Galop got together, they could easily create a European Breeders Cup weekend but would require compromise on both sides of the English Channel.
 
sunybay said:
I think Longchamp is like France , something regressing.
Click to expand...

It's nothing to do with that. When Longchamp was built, the Bois De Boulogne was where Parisians flocked to on weekends for picnics, walks, to play sport and racing. In a city without masses of city centre parks (unlike London), it was the perfect spot to head to for city dwellers (together with the Bois De Vincennes on the other side of the city). With the increase of car usage, people started to head further afield for their weekend downtime.

How else can they get people back? It costs nothing to get into and is easy to get to but there isn't the interest in racing to get them back. I've attended the Guineas, Derby, Oaks, GP De Paris, Arc Trials and both days of Arc weekend as well as 2 standard days at Chantilly and Maisons-Laffitte this year; bar the Diane and Arc, the attendances were embarrassing.
 
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