Today fourteen horses will line up at the Vincennes track outside Paris and take off trotting for 2,850 meters (1-3/4 miles) in quest of a victory in the Prix du Bourbonnais.
They will be chased from the start by five trotters who are handicapped 25 meters behind them and thus must traverse 2,875 meters before reaching the finish line.
That's right---this race has two distinct classes. The best horses are penalized 25 meters to make the race more competitive. That can be done since a starting gate is not used.
The Prix du Bourbonnais winner will take home a first place check for about $90,000.
This is the second of four "B" races which comprise the prep races before the "A" team of international trotting can compete in the Prix d'Amerique on the last Sunday in January. That race is over 2,700 meters and there is no handicap (and no starting gate either).
In the Prix du Boubonnais, the field reminds me of that famous line from Casablanca, "Round up the usual suspects."
The familiar faces in French trotting are here: Offshore Dream, winner of the Prix d'Amerique the last two years; Exploit Caf, the French-trained and driven star bred in Italy; and Olga du Biwetz, winner of the first "B" race, the Prix de Bretagne.
Others who are well known to European trotting fans are Oiseau de Feux, Meanulnes du Corta, One du Rib, Nouba du Saptel, and Magnificent Rodney. The latter trotter has won at the highest levels under saddle and when hooked to a sulky.
Nouba du Saptel closed fast to win the Bourbonnais last year, but was disappointing in the Prix d'Amerique.
The horses penalized with a 25-meter handicap today are Offshore Dream, Meaulnes du Corta, Exploit Caf, Oiseau de Feux, and One du Rib.
The field is predominantly French, of course, but there are a few interlopers.
From Sweden comes Glen Kronos with trainer-driver Lutfi Kolgjini. He is a 5-year-old son of Enjoy Lavec (like Enough Talk 5, 1:49.3) and is out of a mare by Spotlite Lobell (Speedy Somolli).
He finished second in the Prix du Bretagne and he's earned more than $1.1 million in his career, despite performing in the shadow of his stablemate Going Kronos.
Another foreigner hoping to upset the home team is Unforgettable, a 6-year-old son of the great German stallion Diamond Way out of a mare by Pine Chip. He will be driven by Dutch star Arnold Mollema.
The goal of all of the trotters in the Prix du Bourbonnais is have the best possible showing today, but, more importantly, to get ready for the Prix d'Amerique in late January.
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.