In one of my blog entries on the Standardbred Canada preview of its new web site, I wrote about the Little Brown Jug and quoted my late friend Norman Woolworth. Few people knew as much about harness racing here and abroad than Woolworth as he started a horse in the late 1950s in the Prix d'Amerique in France. He enjoyed racing wherever he went.

He always said that every harness fan should see the Little Brown Jug, Prix d'Amerique in France, and the Elitlopp in Sweden.

Well, two days ago, I saw the Little Brown Jug, won by the Canadian-owned Shadow Play and there is no doubt that the Jug is a great show. My first one was Bret Hanover in 1965 and I've only missed three since then.

But what about the Prix d'Amerique and Elitlopp---what makes them special? I always thought it was interesting that Woolworth didn't include the Hambletonian on his list of "must see" races. He had the favorite in the '56 Hambletonian, but didn't win it until 1983 when his filly Duenna came through.

Norman appreciated pomp and circumstance and grandeur and I'm sure that's why he enjoyed the European races. The tracks is Europe truly know how to put on a great show for the public.

Both the Prix d'Amerique and Elitlopp are trotting events, of course, but really quite different. The Prix d'Amerique is a marathon test of almost 1-3/4 miles while the Elitlopp is has a North American format of eliminations and a final at one mile.

Unquestionably, France has the strongest harness racing sport of any country in the world. Trotting is very much a part of the country's culture and you can certainly see that if you go to Paris for the Prix d'Amerique.

Earlier this year when I assisted a group from this side of the Atlantic on a tour, they were amazed to see posters all over the touristy sections of Paris promoting the Prix d'A. We saw one billboard that must have been seven stories tall.

French trotting requires tourists to adapt a different mindset. The Vincennes track outside Paris is 1-1/4 miles in circumference and the Prix d'Amerique is started with a walk-up start. They take the horses about as far away from the public as possible, gather them up, and send all 18 trotters on their way.

To me the start always evokes old films of the Oklahoma land rush where it was every man for himself.

The horses trot to the east for a while, turn north to pass the grandstand while going slightly downhill.

Then they turn west into a turn that really isn't a single turn but instead two turns connected by a straightaway.

When the horses turn south to trot the backstretch, you begin to separate the contenders from the pretenders. That's because they're trotting slightly uphill after going about a mile. Only the strong survive.

The race culminates with a mad dash down the stretch and into the history books.

If this sounds like a trotting race unlike any you've ever seen, then you're right. It isn't. It's special.

In fact, the entire Prix d'Amerique experience is special. The program is presented with grandeur and majesty that the French do so well. As I recall, this year the first two races were monte events, trotting under saddle, which is an important part of the French sport.

The people who saw the Prix d'Amerique this year for the first time certainly understand why Norman Woolworth said it was a race that you must see. Trainer Doug Miller had starters in the Jug and Hambletonian last year, but he said that the Prix d'Amerique was the greatest spectacle he'd ever seen in harness racing.

If you ever plan to travel to France and want to see some trotting, email me and perhaps I can give you some pointers. And I'm working again with a Swedish tour company on a trip to the Prix d'Amerique in 2009 and let me know if you're interested in coming along. Only then can you appreciate the magnificence of trotting in France.

Dean Hoffman, one of North America's most prolific harness racing journalists and member of the U.S. Harness Racing Hall of Fame, offers SC website readers his weekly look at international standardbred racing through his eyes.