Weather blamed for fall in Arc crowd with officials estimating rain deterred 5,000 from Longchamp

France Galop officials have blamed the persistent cold and damp weather on Sunday for an official Arc-day crowd figure at Longchamp of just 22,300, a fall of around 3,700 on last year when Ace Impact scored in unseasonally warm temperatures and blue skies. 

In the weeks running up to the Arc the reports from the sport's governing body were that British and Irish bookings were ahead of where they had been last year when the Rugby World Cup in France provided a rival attraction. That was confirmed right up until the eve of Europe's richest race, while domestic advanced ticket sales were also up on 2023, only for walk-ups to evaporate on Sunday. Estimates about the number of people who decide on the day to attend Longchamp are around 5,000.

Racing at Longchamp on Saturday took place in warm autumn sunshineCredit: Edward Whitaker

In contrast, Saturday's figures held up well, with 9,200 people enjoying warm autumn sunshine and the return of Kyprios to the Longchamp winner's enclosure to reclaim the Prix du Cadran crown he won in 2022. 

When Longchamp was reopened in 2018 following a two-year redevelopment, organisers made a play for attracting casual racegoers with low-price tickets for the infield area, offering music and casual drinking and dining. That led to crowd figures of 45,000 and 40,000 for the first two Arcs back at the race's traditional home, before the pandemic limited the 2020 attendance to just 1,000 people.

Since then there has been no infield attendance and France Galop has concentrated on the grandstand general entry, as well as the enclosure down towards the second winning post. When Alpinista won in torrential rain in 2022 the crowd figure was 25,000.

 The Front Runner is our unmissable email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, the reigning Racing Writer of the Year, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content