There is no doubt that this is the busiest time of the year for me. For 10-months of the year, this site is a quiet place that focuses on the nuances of French racing and it ticks over with a steady stream of content and visitors. Then, around the end of August, the new National Hunt season looms on to the horizon, as does the Arc meeting, and all of a sudden, there are hundreds of hits on the site everyday as everyone looks to read the content and find out about the new horses that Willie Mullins has bought. The post with this years list of French recruits (see related posts) has now passed 3,000 hits and downloads of the PDF have easily surpassed those of previous years. Thank you for that incredible support and I must say that do enjoy waking up every morning to various different messages asking for opinions on horses that have made the switch over the summer. My inbox is always open and if anyone wants to drop me a line and ask about a horse or French racing in general, then there is a contact box on the homepage and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.
As your interest in French racing may be higher at this time of year than others, I thought it would be worth providing a list of resources that can be used to help with the form study, as well as a few of the better judges out there whose opinion I really value and who are worth a follow on social media.
I will begin with France Galop. This website is an absolute must have for anyone that is looking to gain a better understanding of French horse racing. There is an English tab for those who don't have anything better than "schoolboy" french, but with a free account you can watch every premium races live, view full replays of every race run in France, as well as form records dating back to the 1980s, pedigrees, trainer records, etc. France Galop put British racing to shame with this site and the ability to follow all of the form in one place cannot be underestimated. There is a free tracker service which will send emails whenever a horse is declared to run, as well as an update at the end of the day to give you the result too. Finally, it is important to understand that French racing is divided into Premium and Provinical racing. Premium racing takes place at the major tracks and is essentially the racing that you can bet on with the PMU and UK Bookmakers. Provincial racing, which normally takes place at the weekend, has on track betting only and the majority of the racing sites in the UK will not report this form. Having an understanding of the form from a track like Royan or Pompadour can provide a significant edge as a result.
For those with more than a passing interest, I would also recommend looking at Jour de Galop. Imagine the Racing Post, but without the betting adverts and multiple tipsters. That's Jour de Galop. A brilliant site that focuses on the horse, its pedigree, its connections and its form.
So that's the resources out of the way, on now to who you should follow. There are plenty of top judges of French races, many far better than myself and if you approach racing from a purely betting perspective, I'd recommend giving Jordan Hopkins (@jhchevaux) and @Gostatman a follow. Jordan and I met through French racing, in particular by debating the ridiculous draw bias at Marseille Vivaux back in 2020. Since then, Jordan has gone on to prove himself to be the best judge of French Flat racing there is and his work in the Bloodstock industry and more latterly with the Tote is worthy of note. The Statman and I tend to catch up most weeks, normally with a debate over which short priced favourite in the days maiden races is worth taking on, but I always value his opinions, especially on price, and he has shown himself to produce a consistent profit over a long period of time with his selections.
For more in-depth and less betting focussed content, Ande Humphrey (@ashsh) is a must. This mans knowledge of the French Flat program, particualrly at this time of year in the build up to the Arc, is second-to-none and if I ever have a question about Flat racing in France, he is the first person that I ask and he always seems to find the answer for me. On similar lines, it is also worth following Charly Milpied (@CharlyMilpied) whose work with Equidia, focussing on the Jumps racing in France, is second to none. Every year Charly gives me a horse to follow amongst the French recruits (this year it is Fou de Toi) and he is usually on the money with these.
There are so many Racing podcasts at the moment that the market has become saturated with opinions. Yes, before you state the obvious, I'm aware that I make appearances on those too, but it can be hard to sift through them for the best content on offer. There was a niche in the market for a podcast that focuses on French racing, but it has recently been filled by the Claiming Lads (@Theclaiminglads). Sam Sutton, Toby Jones, James Finch and Ryan Chesters (@JinksMarmaduke) have put together a brilliant mix of informative content that focuses purely on Jumps racing in France, predominantly at Auteuil. The latter runs a very successful form guide and speed figure service for French jumps racing, whilst the first 3 have proved themselves to be exceptionally shrewd owners and buyers of horses from Claiming races (hence the name) in France. Even though I spend upwards of 40-hours per week watching French racing, I still learn something new every time that I listen to the show.
Finally, having given several others a positive report, I will add a few notes about this blog. Everything here is free. There are no affiliate deals or associations for this post or any other on the site. I really don't agree with charging for content and whilst real life will occasionally get in the way, I do my best to regularly update this site and to highlight anything and everything that I think is worthy of note. There is a subscription box on the homepage which will register your email for an update every time there is a new post and as I mentioned at the start, there is also the contact page for any questions that you may have. I am always happy to have a discussion around French racing.
Really useful overview - thanks!