compiegne racecourse

Course: Compiegne Racecourse - Friday afternoon racing

🎫 Ticket & value: €5 one package for all

👀 Track view: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🍔 🍺 Food & Drink: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

⭕️ Parade Ring: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🏇 Runners and riders: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎉 Atmosphere: ⭐️

⭐️ Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

👍🏻 Best for: Food & Drink 🍔 🍺

We went to the beautiful Compiegne Racecourse on a Friday afternoon for a lovely little card of French flat racing. The ticket for admission was an absolute bargain price of 5 euros, which is unbelievable value for money. Based to the north east of Paris, Compiegne has been racing since 1875, with a figure of eight jumps track that is circled by a left handed flat course and home to both thoroughbred racing and the unique trotting cards. The racing generally takes place between March and July every year and is well worth a visit with stunning architecture that differs from the British racecourses.

The track view at compiegne is sublime. Down by the rail you get one of the most unpestered views we’ve encountered so far. With there not being a multitude of different bookmakers in France means nobody is positioned down in front of the grandstand taking bets. The PMU counters are either inside or over the other side adjacent to the parade ring. Due to this you can stand right on the rail and you are so so close to the horses powering down the home straight to the finish line. We’d say the closest we’ve been to horses on the home straight and you get the sense of the speed and power of these animals. There is a jumps track on the inner course so you would be further away from them on these meetings. From the grandstand the view you get is fantastic you can see the entire way round the track bar a couple of trees on the far side.

For this review we have clubbed food and drink into one category because there isn’t any trackside Guinness available in France. That being said, the setup and quality is second to none here. The track only needs to have one bar and restaurant due to the size and probably attendance of the meetings but don’t let that fool you. We would thoroughly recommend a visit here.

Starting with the food, we opted for traditional French snails with lashings of garlic butter which were gigantic in size and tasted exactly how they were supposed to. They were also served alongside a basket of French stick to dip in the garlic butter afterwards…delicious! Following this, it would be rude not to opt for the steak frites for main when in France and this is exactly what we did. The dish was cooked to perfection with exceptional bark on the outside of the steak whilst nice and rare in the middle (the French way). This was all washed down with an elegant glass of Gran Vin Des Bordeaux, a seriously good red wine which tasted even better at a racecourse. Whilst you sit in the conservatory style restaurant there is a screen allowing punters to enjoy this delicious meal whilst enjoying the racing. The PMU (bookies) is also situated just through the other side by the bar, giving racegoers excellent access to betting in between races. The meal including the drink was around the €50 mark, which considering the quality of food and the atmosphere was excellent value for money.

The parade ring here was small in size but extremely picturesque surrounded by plenty of trees and greenery. The access for punters is just a rail on one side with no seating or tiered steps but you do get the opportunity to get close to the horses parading. The jockeys come out of the weighing room to the right-hand side and straight into the central grass area. This is located quite a way from the viewing rail, meaning punters have a restricted view. However, the jockeys then head over to jock up right in front of you and follow a chute down out onto the track to the right hand side of the grandstand. You’re able to follow horses all the way on this journey which is a fantastic feature. Horses then canter to the right past the grandstand on the way to post.

The Runners and Riders on the card were pretty good for a Friday afternoon in the quiet town of Compiegne. In terms of the quality of races. Top trainers and jockeys were on show including the likes of Barzalona and Maxine Guyon, Tony Piccone and the legend of French flat racing that is Gerald Mosse, who was riding at the grand age of 57 and has since retired to lend his hand to training.

The crowd and atmosphere on the day were relatively small in size, however this isn’t the sort of track where you’re going to go and have massive crowds with people cheering on the horses. Don’t get me wrong, the odd passionate local was stood by the rail cheering their horses home but if you’re looking for a big day out on the beers then this isn’t the track for you.

We wanted to add in some information regarding the betting setup in France. There is essentially only one bookmaker in France and it’s called the PMU. You don’t get best odds or the price of the horse as it is when you place the bet, you only receive the starting price here. The bet also can take around 5,10 minutes to settle after each race.

Overall, Compiegne offers British racegoers a fantastic opportunity to experience a beautiful day at the races. A stunning racecourse that offers exceptional food and drink options, it really does give a different perspective into how horse racing changes from country to country. A wonderful racecourse and one we would highly recommend.