The Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte at 1 avenue de la Pelouse in the northwestern

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

ian suburb of

Maisons-Laffitte Maisons-Laffitte () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the northern Île-de-France Regions of France, region of France. It is a part of the affluent outer suburbs of northwestern Paris, from its ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

was a

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

facility and track for

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all spor ...

. Opened in 1878 by Joseph Oller, inventor of the pari-mutuel machine, it sits on 92 hectares that belonged to the wealthy banker Jacques Laffitte. The nearby Château de Maisons-Laffitte is home to The Museum of the Racehorse. In November 2018 France Galop announced that the racecourse would close at the end of 2019 due to financial pressures on the organisation. The final meeting was held on 29 October 2019. Despite the efforts of local government officials during 2020 there are no plans to re-open the track and the racing surface has been allowed fall into disrepair. In early 2023 the sale of the racecourse to a public land operator, L’établissement public foncier d’Île-de-France (EPFIF), was completed. The new owners plan to revitalize the site and restart horse racing. The racecourse layout was unique as it was one of the few courses in the world that staged both left- and right-handed races. It also featured a 2,000-metre straight track, one of the longest in Europe and three different winning posts. From early March through to the end of November, the major annual Conditions races at Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte were: *

Prix Eugène Adam The Prix Eugène Adam is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1 miles), and it is scheduled to ta ...

* Prix Robert Papin * Prix Messidor * La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte * Prix Eclipse * Prix de Seine-et-Oise *

Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte The Critérium de Maisons-Laffitte is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is ...

* Prix Miesque

References

External links

France Galop website for Hippodrome de Maisons-Laffitte
(French language) Sports venues completed in 1878 Maisons Maisons Buildings and structures in Yvelines {{horseracing-venue-stub