Ever been to Paris? Ya’ know, Paris- like in France.
I always wanted to visit the city of lights, and just
recently I had an opportunity to do so. And whatever you’ve heard about Paris
probably doesn’t do it justice. With magnificent attractions like the Eiffel
Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Musee du Louvre, Notre Dame , the new giant
Ferris Wheel sticking out high above the river Seine, and all the other
glorious attributes the city has to offer, I was mystified, and you’d be,
too.
I was lucky to go with a contingent of horse people who were
invited guests of France’s Harness Racing Association(Le Trot) and its Chairman of Cheval Francois, the very
gracious Dominque de Bellaigue. The dozen, or so, who made the trip were
from the U.S Trotting Association, the Standardbred Owners Association of
NY, Yonkers Raceway, and the New York State Breeders Association, along
with other dignitaries.
The major purpose of that French trip was to work with Le
Trot to set up simulcasting from the US to France and eventually co-mingling of
wagering pools so the French would be able to bet directly into American
pools. And with Yonkers president, Tim Rooney and SOANY president, Joe
Faraldo among us, they also are working to reinstate the
International Trot, won twice by both Roquepine and Une de Mai, which the
French were quick to remind us of. The International Trot was very popular decades ago and it may return to Yonkers Raceway before you
know it .
And it appears that both objectives will come to fruition.
Perhaps the best part of that journey was that we went as
V.I.P.’s, and as guests of Le Trot we
were chauffeured all around, wined and dined, but for airfare and
money spent out of pocket.
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| Photo courtesy of Rebekah Mae Photography |
On the evening of our arrival our contingent were guests at
a gala Le Trot Banquet and the next two days were spent at the races at
Vincennes—their magnificent racetrack—where France’s premier trotting event, the Prix d’ Amerique--
a 1.2 Million Euro spectacle-- is raced. And both days we were treated to
outstanding luncheons at the track and the Moet Champagne flowed like
water.
Prior to the races on Prix d’ Amerique Day the afternoon began with a grand spectacle on
the racetrack of different breeds of horses, men on big-high stilts and a Corvette automobile parade with
the Prix D’ Amerique drivers waving to the huge
crowd. That race is the French
way of paying homage to the Americans who helped free
France during World War I.
Even though I’m not a betting man, on the day of the big race I wanted a souvenir
so I wagered five Euros on a pick that I made from the 18 starters figuring I’d
have a ticket to remember my trip by. But, lo and behold, the horse I picked,
Maharajah, won the race and I won nearly fifty U.S. bucks, which was a heck of
a lot better than a souvenir losing ticket.
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| John Manzi thanking Maharajah for a winning effort. |
We spent three nights in Paris and on the fourth day we were
taken by bus to Gros Bois, the unbelievably magnificent training center on the
outskirts of Paris, where over 2500 horses are stabled and trained on five or
six different size tracks. I even got to meet and take a photo with
Maharajah, who was stabled there.
After a wonderful luncheon at Gros Bois —with Moet flowing again-
we had a three hour trip north to Normandy and for the next two days we visited
many training facilities in that part of France.
On our last night in Normandy we stayed in Caen, a city
rebuilt after it was devastated in World War II, and our group dined at a
fine restaurant with the officials of Le Trot who joined us to solidify a
co-mingling betting agreement. (And guess what? The Moet flowed
there, too. )
On our way back to the airport on our final day of the trip
we went by the race track in Caen as our hosts explained that there are over
234 different hippodromes in France, which surprised everyone in the
group.
It took more than three hours for us to get to the airport
in Paris for our return to the USA. While traveling through the city I was
amazed at the amount of graffiti that seemed to be everywhere, similar to
what you might see in our subways in New York City.
We made it to the plane on time and then we prepared for the
nine-hour trip back home to JFK.
Although I had been to Europe in the late 1980’s on two
different occasions as publicist for the North American Amateur Drivers
Association visiting various cities in Holland, Belgium, as well as
Berlin, then in West Germany and before the Wall was taken down. As
wonderful as those cities were--- there is only one Paris!
