Europe's richest race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, will be opened to geldings for the first time in 2027, after board members at France Galop voted to remove restrictions June 23.
France will need to request a change in the entry conditions at a full meeting of the European Pattern Committee, but it seems extremely unlikely that any of the other major European nations will object to a measure which brings France's most important race into line with theirs.
French online racing daily Jour de Galop initially reported the France Galop board's decision.
The Arc has become increasingly isolated in recent years among major all-aged group 1s in Europe that are restricted to colts, fillies, and mares, with the Prix Jacques le Marois (G1) the only other outlier in the French Pattern following the opening of the Moulin de Longchamp (G1) to geldings in 2020.
With entries for this year's race at Longchamp Oct. 4 already having closed last month, there will be no change to the conditions until 2027.
The case for allowing geldings to run in the Arc has returned to the agenda in the last couple of years following the exploits of Goliath and Calandagan—the latter ending 2025 as the Longines World's Best Racehorse—with both horses trained in Chantilly by Francis Graffard, but denied the option of running in France's biggest race having already been gelded.
Calandagan's world champion campaign featured runs in Dubai, Britain, and Japan as well as a solitary home appearance in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1), while Godolphin's Rebel's Romance is another globetrotting gelding, having won at the top level in Dubai, Hong Kong, the United States, and Germany.
Group 1s for 2- and 3-year-olds have traditionally been restricted to colts and fillies in Europe as they are designated as races for selection of the best future breeding stock.
While the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1), as well as both the British and Irish Champion stakes, are open to geldings, France Galop has always maintained that the Arc and the Jacques le Marois are important races for selection as well.
There is robust debate across the training and veterinary community as to the potential physical and psychological advantages conferred on a gelded male, while both elected members of the board and France Galop officials have been deeply divided on the subject of whether to open the Arc up to geldings.
