13 May 2024
On Saturday, 18 and Sunday, 19 May 2024, the Auteuil racecourse hosts a total of 17 races, including the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.
To prepare and maintain the ground, the Auteuil racecourse teams, led by course clerk Edouard Boutolleau, had to adapt particularly to this spring’s unusual weather patterns.
Edouard Boutolleau explains: "Maintaining the Auteuil ground has been a bit more challenging this spring because of low temperatures and a lot of rain. Consequently, the track was tacky and too heavy for the meetings that took place from February until now. In these conditions, the ground teams doubled their efforts to tread in the divots after each race day. They did some amazing work. Also, the turf reseeding did not produce the hoped-for result, as growth was slowed down by unusually low temperatures for this time of year. The grass cover is a little less dense in certain areas."
Between the meeting on Tuesday, 8 May, and the weekend of the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, the following measures have been put into place: divots will be surface-dressed, the track rolled, and the hedges of the “open ditch” and the “double barrière” will be renewed.
Over the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris weekend, the rail will be moved back to zero in the Auteuil bend, while the rail in the Passy bend will placed at 7 metres on Saturday before being moved back to zero on Sunday.
Saturday evening, straight after the last race, and Sunday morning, before the start of the meeting, 100 ground staff will be out and about to ensure the maintenance of the track, particularly to tread in the divots.
Watering could occur over the next few days, depending on weather conditions. After the daily ground updates, the ground condition will be published on the France Galop website and @FranceGalop's social media platforms. The Auteuil teams aim to obtain a "very soft" ground for this weekend.