The great day at Longchamps, that crowns the Parisian season like the
"bouquet" at the end of a long series of fire-works, is the
international fete of the Grand Prix de Paris, run for the first time
in 1863. It is open to entire horses and to fillies of all breeds and
of all countries, three-year-olds, and of the prize, one hundred
thousand francs, half is given by the city of Paris and half by the
five great railway companies. It was the late duc de Morny who first
persuaded the municipal council and the administrations of the railways
to make this annual appropriation; ail of which, together with the
entries, a thousand francs each, goes to the winner, after deducting
ten thousand francs given to the second horse and five thousand to the
third. Last year the amount won by Nubienne, carrying fifty-three and a
half kilogrammes, was one hundred and forty-one thousand nine hundred
and seventy-five francs, and the time made was three minutes
thirty-three seconds on a track of three thousand metres--one mile
seven furlongs, or three furlongs longer than that of the Derby at
Epsom.
The fixing of Sunday for this international contest has aroused the
prejudices of the English, and has been the occasion of a long
correspondence between Admiral Rous and Viscount Daru, but the
committee on races has refused to change the day, contending, with
reason, that the French people cannot be expected to exchange their
usages for those of a foreign country.
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