Jushua Tree impressive in €120,000 Prix Marcel Laurent

Groupe tests were on stage today in this second weekend of the Vincennes Winter Meet. The featured Prix Marcel Laurent (Gr. II, purse 120,000€, 2100 meters autostart, 15 Euroopean starters ages 4-5) went to 7/10 odds favorite Jushua Tree (5m Bold Eagle-Ma Sissi James-Buvetier d’Aunou) reined by Jean Michel Bazire for Ecurie Olmenhof and trainer Nicolas Bazire.

Race time was 1.10.9kr for the 19 time career winner in 27 starts for 972,650€ that raced with shoes on and unchecked. He appeared sound and solid and perhaps an Amerique contender in January ‘25.  Dimitri Ferm (5m Nad Al Sheba-Tracy Chapman) closed for second at 22/1 with Matthieu Abrivard driving the Mauro Baroncini trainee for Dream Ferm Srl. Jazzman Debailleul (5m Repeat Love-Scarlet Gaby) also at 22/1 odds took third with Franck Nivard the pilot for Erno Szirmay the owner and trainer. The next four money spots went to 7.9/1 Destiny di Poggio (5f Bold Eagle), Deus Zack (5m Victor Gio), Josh Power (5m Offshore Dream) and Keep Going (4m Follow You).

For the race replay, click here.

The Prix du Languedoc (Gr. III, purse 90,000€, 2850 meters, nine European starters ages 6-10) showcased older trotteurs of note and It’s A Dollarmaker (6m Saxo de Vandel-Salt Lake City) scored in 1.12.1kr with Eric Raffin driving for trainer Sebastien Guarato and owner Gianni Fascella.

Two lengths back second was 1.2/1 favorite Ino du Lupin (6g Scipion du Goutier-Tina d’Hermes) that Antoine Wiels piloted for legendary breeder/owner/trainer Jean Paul Marmion. Inexess Bleu (6g Vittel de Brevol) was third at 5.9/1 odds with Alexandre Abrivard driving for L.Cl. Abrivard. The next four to  the line were 31/1 Horchestro (7g Sam Bourbon), 2.6/1 Oracle Tile (8m Ready Cash), 24/1 Bilo Jepson (7g Timoko) and 49/1 Hip Hop Haufor (7m Up And Quick).For the race replay, click here.

Earlier this week the horsemen took the day off to demonstrate in opposition to additional taxes on FR horse racing. Below is a translation of a portion of the Trotteur Francais coverage of this important issue.

Translation of Trotteur Francais News:

It’s D-Day for the horse racing industry. This Thursday, its actors are called to parade in Paris. The “We walk or we die” demonstration will aim to show a sector angry against the project of overtaxing horse racing betting. This project has (momentarily?) disappeared but the possibility of its return is not completely excluded and the general mobilization, this Thursday in the streets of Paris, is transformed into opposition by anticipation and prevention. An act with communication virtues too, to put into perspective all the dimensions of a sector “complex and an essential player in rural areas”, according to the remarks taken up by deputies during recent debates.

Through successive appearances and disappearances, the fiscal sword of Damocles via an overtaxation of horse racing betting, which would deprive the sector of an estimated amount of resources between 30 and 50 million euros, is no longer part of the current Social Security financing bill. But the common opposition front remains. It is now a question of locking in all its possibilities of return. And to look further ahead too. To highlight a dynamic, self-financed sector, a source of wealth, whose latest assessment of its contribution to the national GDP, as part of a study by Deloitte, amounts to 2.6 billion euros.

The events of the last few days have recontextualized the demonstration operation of the horse racing industry in the streets of Paris. It is now coupled with a consumer communication dimension that is stronger than ever. It is no longer a simple opposition, a noisy formulation of a NO to a project of increased taxation. The government’s amendment to overtax horse racing betting did not survive its passage in the National Assembly. But the disastrous project for the races may come back in the continuation of the process of formalizing the 2025 finance project. “Above all, we must not give up, because the legislative process of the finance law is not over,” Stéphane Meunier, the President of the SEDJ, recalled a few hours ago.

The Minister of Budget and Public Accounts, Laurent Saint-Martin, agreed with the arguments deployed by the deputies who intervened on the subject during the exchanges in the National Assembly on the amendment of surcharge tabled, rejected on Monday by the deputies. Since last Sunday, he has been hammering home that horse racing betting is not affected by the increase in taxation planned on “the most dynamic games in terms of consumption and the most addictive”. At the request of Mayenne MP Géraldine Bannier (“What can you say on the eve of a strong mobilisation of the sector’s players scheduled for Thursday to reassure them?”), this Tuesday in the context of Questions to the Government, he replied: “Several deputies have alerted us to the reality behind the PMU. The PMU finances the agricultural life of our country to the tune of 600 million euros per year. This allows the horse racing industry to survive. This allows the training of trades, the promotion of livestock farming

A reassuring and appeasement message, but it is the only one for the moment, in such a clear and precise way at the level of the government. No position has filtered out from the Prime Minister’s office, which will have the last word in a 49.3 procedure. And the racing industry wants to be united this Thursday to show its determination and spread its messages in all government spheres.

Three professionals met in Deauville this Wednesday as part of the Autumn Sale share their impressions, analysis and state of mind.

Jean-Philippe Raffegeau (coach – Anjou-Maine federation): “We feel a real mobilization in the regional committees and this is obviously the case within Anjou-Maine. Today (read Wednesday) in Deauville during the sales, it’s a subject on everyone’s lips. The mobilization should be strong, as it was seven years ago. We know that the legislative system is quite complex and we can see very clearly that the Senate can still reintroduce taxation and that 49.3 can always fall. We must remain mobilized. Our spokespeople know how to find the words with parliamentarians. We have the support of the Minister of the Budget, Laurent Saint-Martin, and some deputies, such as the one from my department (Mayenne) with Géraldine Bannier. We must also mobilize to show solidarity behind these pillars for our sector.

Trotteur Francais, PMU, Paris-Vincennes files/photos

by Thomas H. Hicks, for Harnesslink, with files from Trotteur Francais