History of the Chantilly training centre

1537
Anne de Montmorency, Constable of France, changes the boundaries of Chantilly forest to suit the requirements of fox hunting.

1662
The Grand Condé calls to his service André le Nôtre, who clears major avenues within the forest for the fox hunt.

1720
Louis-Henri de Bourbon Condé orders the construction of the Great Stables where he stables his hunters.

The birth of horseracing.

1833
First unofficial race on the Chantilly lawn.
Foundation of the Société d’Encouragement pour l’Amélioration de la Race Chevaline (The Society for the encouragement of improving horse breeds), which is now known as France Galop.

1834
Creation of the racecourse on the lawn area provided by the Orléans family and the organisation of the first races on 15 May 1834.
Foundation of the Jockey Club circle

1836
Creation of the Prix du Jockey Club, also known as the Chantilly Derby.

1843
Creation of the Prix de Diane.

1847
Upon the request of the Duke d’Aumale, the architect Grisart builds the first stands.

1857
Construction of the Longchamp racecourse

Chantilly, horse town

1859
First train to arrive in Chantilly

1863
Construction of Vincennes racecourse.

1873
Construction of Auteuil racecourse.

1881
So many people flock to the races that the Duke d’Aumale orders the architect Daumet to construct new stands.

1890
As there is no space in the centre of the town, the Quartier Bois Saint-Denis is created to house the racing stables.

1897
As the Chantilly train station is too small to accommodate racegoers who travel from Paris on important race days, the number of platforms is increased to 12 at the Chantilly races station, which can now accommodate 25 000 people in two hours!

1898
Construction of the Jockey’s hospital
The “American style” of riding comes to Chantilly, thanks to Tod Sloan.

1900

Creation of the training centre “Aigles” at Gouvieux.

1901
Construction of Saint-Cloud racecourse.

1906
Construction of Tremblay racecourse.

1909
Stable lads go on strike at Chantilly.

1915
First World War stops racing at Chantilly. The racecourse remains closed for four years..

1922
Léopold Bara starts the S.T.H.: Société de Transport Hippique (Horse transport company).

1939
Pharis, owned by Marcel Boussac and trained in Chantilly, is the “Horse of the Century”. However, during the German invasion Pharis is taken and exported by force to Germany.

1940
The Aigles training centre is requisitioned and turned into a military airport. The racecourse is closed.

1948
Reopening of the racecourse and the Aigles training centre.

1953
Prince Aga Khan III transfers all of his horses to his Aiglemont yard at Gouvieux into the care of Alec Head.

1954
Invention of the Tiercé

1962
Premier essai d’utilisation des stalles de départ à Chantilly. Elles seront généralisées sur tous les hippodromes en 1964.

1974
Queen Elizabeth II comes to Chantilly to watch her filly, Highclere, win the Prix de Diane.

1984
Opening of the Living Museum of the Horse in Chantilly. Start of equestrian show by Yves and Annabel Bienaimé in the Great Stables.

A modern and dynamically driven racecourse

1994
Chantilly racecourse is saved from closing thanks to the efforts of the local community.
Launch of a campaign to modernise the racecourse.

1995
Creation of the Chantilly Polo Club at Apremont.

2000
Construction of a tunnel below Highway 16 to allow the safe passage of horses from the Bois Saint-Denis onto the Aigles tracks.

2004
Polo World Championship, organised by the Chantilly Polo Club, takes place at Apremont.

2010
AThe Global Champion’s Tour takes place at Chantilly and becomes a fixture in the International Jumping calendar.

2012
A PSF, or fibresand track, is installed on the racecourse, which brings the total race meetings to 40 per year. The track is officially used for the first time on 3 March 2012. The three-year-old filly Azeville, trained by François Rohaut at Pau, is the first official winner on the fibresand track at Chantilly racecourse.

2013
Opening of the new Horse Museum in the Great Stables at Chantilly.

2013 à 2015

The Christiane Head-Maarek-trained filly Trêve, an outstanding champion who among other victories is a dual winner of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (2013 and 2014), regularly exercises on the famous “Aigles” track. Trêve has several thousand followers thanks to her official website “Follow Trêve that sports ‘Follow Trève’, the clip “Fly Away Trêve”, which was made in her honour, ’Fly Away Trève’ as well as the video ‘Trève Confidential’ that was shown in Paris before the 2015 edition of the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.