Arc First Among 2015's Top 100 GI Races
Description:
The Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe sits atop the list of the world's top 100 group I and grade I races for 2015, according to rankings released April 22 by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.
The list is compiled using the annual race ratings, which is an average of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings ratings of the first four finishers of last year's runnings.
The Arc, held each October at Longchamp, garnered the highest rating of 126. Last year, eventual Europe's Horse of the Year Golden Horn won the race, in which Flintshire, New Bay, and Treve rounded out the top four.
The Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, in which American Pharoah began his march toward winning the first U.S. Triple Crown title in 37 years, ranked second with a 125 rating. The son of Pioneerof the Nile also won the Breeders' Cup Classic, which was rated third at 124.75, and he secured the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes Presented by Draftkings, which earned a 123.75 rating to rank fourth.
The remaining top seven races from 2015 are the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes (123.50), Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (123), Juddmonte International (122.25), Travers Stakes (122.25), Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (122), Dubai Sheema Classic Presented by Longines (121.75), Longines Hong Kong Cup (121.75), and Tattersalls Gold Cup (121.75)—the last three racing tying for the final spot in the top 10.
Going forward, the annual rankings of the top 100 group I and grade I races for a single year will serve as the basis for both the Longines World's Best Horse Race and Longines World's Best Jockey awards.
The Longines World's Best Jockey is an annual competition to recognize top jockeys throughout the world. The jockey who outperforms his or her peers in these races will be honored in December, while the 2016 Longines World's Best Horse Race will honored at a ceremony in January 2017.
Eleven countries comprise the 2015 list of top 100 races. The United States of America leads all countries with 23 total races, followed by Australia (22), Great Britain (15), Hong Kong (10), France (9), Japan (9), Ireland (4), United Arab Emirates (4), South Africa (2), Germany (1), and Singapore (1).
IFHA, based in France, is the world peak body for the international sport of Thoroughbred racing. Its members are the national racing authorities across the globe that stage Thoroughbred races.
For the complete list of the top 100 group I and grade I races, click here.