Longchamp, France’s best known racecourse, runs its first meeting today. Paris has had a lot of rain and the ground is likely to be heavy. The feature is the Prix de la Pepiniere. Eight fillies, all of them four year-olds, will answer the starter’s call. The Andre Fabre-trained Legrete is favoured to win.

Longchamp hosts the Arc de Triomphe in early October. It is a breathtakingly beautiful course. There are convenient bus connections from two major train stations. Roland Garros tennis complex, home to the French Open championships, is close to Longchamp, Saint Cloud is a neighboring track. Also in close proximity is Autueil, a popular steeplechase track.

In England, the Grand National meeting gets underway today at Aintree racecourse in Liverpool. The Grand National will be held on Saturday at 4 15 P M and is the fifth race of the day. It is a three-day meeting.

Kauto Star, beaten favourite in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, goes in Totesport Bowl. Inglis Drever, a winner at Cheltenham, will go in the Liverpool Hurdle.

Let us switch gears. Eleven horses have been entered in the 1800-metre Santa Anita Derby to be run coming Saturday. The race will be run on a synthetic surface.

Colonel John, trained by Eoin Harty, is the 2-1 morning line choice. El Gato Malo is listed at 5-2. A Tiznow colt, Colonel John will be ridden by Cory Nakatani. David Flores gets the call on El Gato Malo. In the Sham Stakes on March 1, Colonel John beat El Gato Malo by one half length. El Gato Malo, a gelding by El Corredor, encountered road trouble and shook free a little too late. Craig Dollase trains El Gato Malo.

Ginger Punch was the Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner last October. She will take on the unbeaten Zenyatta who beat some Grade I rivals last time out. The race is the April Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park on Saturday. It is a race for fillies-mares over 1700 metres.

In the same card, the Grade II $500,000 Oaklawn Handicap will be contested. Oaklawn is coming up with several stakes in the days to come.

Keeneland in Kentucky begins a 16-day meeting on Friday. There is a 10-race programme on opening day and the Grade III $150,000 Transylvania Stakes is the main event. The Grade I Ashland Stakes is scheduled for Saturday. Proud Spell and Country Star are likely starters.

The other Grade I races in the Keeneland schedule are the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes on April 12, the $300,000 Makers Mark Mile on April 11 and the $150,000 Royal Chase for the Sport of Kings, a steeplechase race. An average purse money of $650,000 per day will be distributed

Keeneland is an hour from Louisville where Churchill Downs is located. It is in the town of Lexington, the breeding headquarters in America. For a long time, Keeneland did not have a public announcer. The track is in the heart of what is called ‘Blue Grass’ country.

The third and final Kentucky Derby pool opens today. The wager runs until Sunday. There are 23 betting interests. Three major races will be run this Saturday. They are the Santa Anita Derby, the Illinois Derby and the Wood Memorial. On Sunday, there could be big changes in the odds.

Courtesy: NTRA reports, Racing Post and other sources