Each January now demands yet another trip to France for the greatest trotting race on the planet, the Prix d'Amerique. And this year, I had a special opportunity with the assistance of my friend and French agent Christian Lebarbey to visit French stud farms and training centers, and to attend an Arqana Mixed Sale in Deauville on the Normandy coast.

After a day of recuperation in Paris from the overseas flight, I placed myself in Christian's care for a whirlwind trip to Normandy. We first visited Haras du Pays d'Auge to see the Genes Diffusion stallions Boccador de Simm, Booster Winner, Offshore Dream, and Orlando Vici.

Boccador de Simm is the sire of my own 2026 yearling colt PRIORITY ONE, out of my French mare Jamaica Turbo. I will train and race this colt in the US. I have also registered him as a "Trotter Francais", which makes him eligible for all the restricted French races. Booster Winner is the sire of Prix d'Amerique champion Hooker Berry. Offshore Dream twice won the Prix d'Amerique, and is the sire of current crack trotter Josh Power. Orlando Vici found considerable success as a sire in Scandinavia, and is the sire of top trotter and stallion Un Mec d'Heripre.

Next we visited the storybook farm of Haras de Bouttemont, home of the breed-changing Ready Cash and many of his best sons. Owners Phillipe and Gitte Allaire, and my friend and stallion manager Christophe Tourlorge, were gracious hosts as I reviewed many of their stallions. Charly du Noyer has always been a personal favorite, and is the sire of Jamaica Turbo. Bird Parker is the premier French sire for long distance races. Christophe is his proud breeder. Elitloppet winner Hohneck has recently concluded his racing career and will begin full-time stallion duty. Just A Gigolo is a son of Boccador de Simm who was an early maturing champion at 3. He also won the Final of the Grand Prix de I'U.E.T at Solvalla. Just A Gigolo was my personal favorite as a potential stallion for my own mares because of his conformation, size, and presence. We also reviewed Italiano Vero, Little Brown, and Italian 3 year old champion Ginostrabliggi by Muscle Hill.

I asked Phillipe Allaire which of his stallions he would most recommend to US breeders. He said that Hohneck and Just A Gigolo would be his choices to meet the demands of US racing for early speed and maturity.

We then drove by the Aga Khan's immense equine facilities before visiting Christophe's lovely farm, where we reviewed his champion hunter-jumper Delmagan (named after a famous American trotter). I learned how he thought of the name "Bird Parker" for his top stallion. He named the horse after Charlie Parker, the great American saxophonist, whose famous jazz alblum "Birdology" was the inspiration for the name. Christophe shared a stunning 100 year old Calvados with me that evening. Calvados is the famous apple brandy of Normandy, distilled from fermented cider and aged in oak barrels for at least 2 years. I have had Calvados before, but none could remotely compare to Christophe's masterpiece.

After a great dinner and a restful night at a small hotel in the upscale seaside resort town of Deauville, Christian and I spent the following day there at the Arqana Mixed Sale. Christian was extremely busy looking at, bidding on, and buying horses for his many clients who constantly required his attention by telephone. I spent a more leisurely day enjoying the venue and the action. I considered a Ready Cash mare in foal to Idao de Tillard, but managed to resist a strong temptation to buy her. We then returned to Christian's home late that evening for a potluck dinner of scrambled eggs and cassoulet.

The following morning, we met with a large group of Christian's clients from Malta before visiting two training centers, including Ecurie DM Mottier. The weather was typical of January in Normandy: cold, damp, and drizzly. But nevertheless we watched a number of trotters at work in their training programs. Interestingly, we were all most impressed by a son of Boccador de Simm trained by M. Mottier. I hope that Priority One shows that much ability and promise.

That afternoon, I accompanied the Malta group to the "French Wal-Mart", E. Leclerc, to buy groceries for their personal cook to make rigatoni bolognese back at Christian's home. Much wine was purchased as well. I was particularly impressed by the breadth and volume of the Leclerc meat department, and the availability of an in-house butcher to meet your every need.

After a great meal, Christian drove me back to my hotel in Paris.

On Friday, my Norwegian friends Per Erik Hagen and Sigmund Vitter (accompanied by Per Erik's brother-in-law Petter Stein) arrived at my hotel for the weekend of racing. We had a great mid-afternoon meal at Le Procope, a very famous and revered Paris restaurant that once hosted philosophers Voltaire and Rousseau, French Revolutionaries Danton and Marat, and even Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Thereafter, we traveled by taxi to the Vincennes racetrack to explore the stallion exposition and attend yet another Arqana Mixed Sale. We met friends from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Australia at Christian's "ITS" (International Trot Services) vendor booth, and enjoyed browsing the displays for other French stallions and equine-related businesses.

On Saturday and Sunday, my Norwegian friends and I attended the races at Vincennes in the comfort of their premier dining room. No one can compare with the French in creating a festive entertainment atmosphere! We enjoyed top quality restaurant-level food, and wine and champagne simply flowed all day.

I have been collecting commemorative scarves at previous Prix d'Amerique races, but missed my chance to buy a special scarf honoring two-time Prix d'Amerique winner and US Breeders Crown champion Bold Eagle. My Dutch friend Dirk previously corrected my oversight with his gift of a Bold Eagle scarf, which I wore proudly to the races.

Of course, the highlight of the trip was the Prix d'Amerique. This year, several top contenders were sidelined before the race. Two-time Prix d'Amerique winner Idao de Tillard was recovering from emergency colic surgery. His chief rival Jushua Tree was scratched days before the race because of a quarter crack. 2025 Elitloppet winner and strong stretch closer Go On Boy was just returning from a layoff, and was believed to be not yet in top form. So the race was wide open, with no clear favorite. The exciting 2026 Prix d'Amerique race video can be viewed on YouTube here.

In this race with no clear favorite, the difference maker was six-time Prix d'Amerique champion driver Franck Nivard who confidently steered longshot Hokkaido Jiel (by Brillantissime) through traffic to the inside lane and past the front group to win by a head. Josh Power was second, and Epic Kronos was third.

That evening, my Norwegian friends and Christian accompanied me to a memorable dinner at the famous and exclusive Paris restaurant L'ami Louis. The dinner was sponsored by the Hambletonian Society to honor our French counterparts and other European trotting breeders and enthusiasts. Swedish trainer and official Henrik Lundell joined us at our table for dinner. Foie gras, escargot, House specialty chicken and shoestring fries, fresh breads, salads, and luxurious desserts - with white jacketed servers endlessly refreshing our wine glasses.

After such a weekend, I needed a day of R&R before returning home. I spent a leisurely day first at Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris, magnificently restored to glory after the devastating fire of 2019, followed by a visit to the famous Shakespeare & Company bookstore. And after many visits to Paris, I finally went up the Eiffel Tower!

I thank everyone who made my 2026 visit to France so memorable!