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The €4,000,000 ($5.1 million) 2012 Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe will take place on Sunday, October 7th at Longchamp in Paris. The Arc, one of the most prestigious events in all of horse racing, will feature the brilliant race mare and defending champion, Danedream (GER), as well as Epsom Derby and 2,000 Guineas winner Camelot (GB) and Japanese Triple Crown winner Orfevre (JPN).
In the last several years, either TVG or HRTV has broadcast the Arc along with several of the under card races. This year there seems to be some uncertainty regarding US coverage with neither channel making a recent announcement regarding coverage. We'll see if anything gets worked out over the next week but the silence if deafening.
I've written about this before but it probably bears repeating: the lack of access to coverage of French racing is disappointing, especially when you take into account the number of high-quality races in France every year. And, from what I understand, a lot of the issue comes from the French side of the equation. Either way, it would be nice if racing fans in the US had the ability to watch the best racing from France, like we do from Australia, Japan, England and Ireland.
Below are the current high/low Arc betting, according to the Racing Post. This past weekend we saw a defection from this year's race: the Racing Post reported on Saturday that the top class mare Snow Fairy (IRE) will miss the Arc due to a minor injury. No word yet on whether she's done for the year.
| Horse | High | Low |
| Danedream | 9/2 | 4/1 |
| Nathaniel | 6/1 | 4/1 |
| Orfevre
|
9/2 | 7/2 |
| Camelot | 5/1 | 7/2 |
| Shareta | 10/1 | 8/1 |
| Masterstroke | 12/1 | 10/1 |
| St Nicholas Abbey | 14/1 | 10/1 |
| Meandre | 20/1 | 10/1 |
| Sea Moon | 20/1 | 14/1 |
| Imperial Monarch | 25/1 | 16/1 |
| Rulership | 33/1 | 20/1 |
| Galikova | 40/1 | 20/1 |
| Last Train | 33/1 | 25/1 |
| No Risk At All | 40/1 | 25/1 |
| Al Kazeem | 50/1 | 25/1 |
| Reliable Man | 50/1 | 33/1 |
| Kesampour | 50/1 | 40/1 |
Below is the tentative race schedule and post times for Longchamp's 2012 Arc Festival on October 6th and 7th.
| Day | Post ET | Race | Age/Sex | Dist. | Purse (Euro) |
| 6-Oct | 6:25a | Claiming Race | 2yo | 8.0 | € 27,000 |
| 6-Oct | 6:55a | G2-Prix Chaudenay | 3yo | 15.0 | € 200,000 |
| 6-Oct | 7:30a | G2-Prix Daniel Wildenstein | 3up | 8.0 | € 200,000 |
| 6-Oct | 8:00a | G2-Prix Dollar | 3up | 9.5 | € 200,000 |
| 6-Oct | 8:30a | G2-Prix de Royallieu | 3up, f&m | 12.5 | € 250,000 |
| 6-Oct | 9:08a | Prix Racing & Equestrian Club | 3yo | 8.0 | € 60,000 |
| 6-Oct | 9:40a | G1-Arabian Trophy des Juments | 4yo, f | 10.0 | € 150,000 |
| 6-Oct | 10:10a | Prix Barzan | 3yo | 8.0 | € 30,000 |
| 7-Oct | 7:20a | G1-Prix de Cadran | Open | 20.0 | € 300,000 |
| 7-Oct | 7:55a | G1-Prix de l'Abbaye de Lonchamp | Open | 5.0 | € 350,000 |
| 7-Oct | 8:30a | G1-Prix Marcel Bousac - Critterium des Pouliches | 2yo, f | 8.0 | € 300,000 |
| 7-Oct | 9:05a | G1-Prix Jean-Luc Lagardre | 2yo, c&f | 7.0 | € 350,000 |
| 7-Oct | 9:40a | G1-Prix de l'Opera | 3up | 10.0 | € 400,000 |
| 7-Oct | 10:25a | G1-Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe | 3up | 12.0 | € 4,000,000 |
| 7-Oct | 11:10a | G1-Arabian World Cup | 4up | 10.0 | € 700,000 |
| 7-Oct | 11:55a | G1-Prix de la Foret | 3up, f&m | 7.0 | € 300,000 |
| 7-Oct | 12:25p | Grand Handicap de Longchamp | 3up | 12.0 | € 70,000 |