For a top middle-distance horse, the Arc can be the race its whole year has been leading towards. The conditions call for 2,400 metres on turf, roughly twelve furlongs, at Group 1 level. It has been on the calendar since 1920.
The two Chantilly runnings in 2016 and 2017 were a temporary move while Longchamp was redeveloped. Back in Paris, visiting horses from Britain, Ireland and beyond meet the home-trained runners, often without much direct form between them.
Three-year-olds can take on older horses, with age and sex allowances applying under the race conditions. That makes the weights part of the assessment alongside recent results. Two horses meeting here may not be carrying the same weight they carried against each other earlier in the season.
There was €5 million to race for in 2026. The published conditions will establish the purse for the next edition.