Arc Added to World Championship Series

Edited release from World Championship Racing Series
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Lucien Barriere will join the Emirates World Series Racing Championship in 2001, it was announced in Paris by France Galop's Director General Louis Romanet, and by the Emirates World Series Committee in New York. The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Lucien Barriere, which will be run on Oct. 7, 2001, will be the seventh race of 12, in the World Series, which starts with the Dubai World Cup on March 24 and ends with the Hong Kong Cup on December 16.

The Emirates World Series Racing Championship, sponsored by Emirates, the international airline of the UAE, takes in the 12 Thoroughbred races around the globe and is the largest sponsorship in the history of horseracing.

Other races in the Emirates World Series 2001 are the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, Arlington Million, Grosser Preis von Baden, Esat Digifone Irish Champion Stakes, Canadian International, The Cox Plate, Breeders' Cup Turf, Breeders' Classic, and the Japan Cup.

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Lucien Barriere will be the feature race on a racecard that is unique in European racing, offering six group 1 races, with prize money in excess of Ff17million, and with all six group races sponsored by the Lucien Barriere Hotel & Casino Group. Other group 1 races are the Grand Criterium- Groupe Lucien Barriere, over 1,400 metres, and the Marcel Boussac-Royal Barriere, the two-year old championships for colts and fillies respectively. For stayers the Cadran-Casino Barriere Cannes Croisette , for sprinters the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp-Majestic Barriere, and the Prix de l'Opera-Casino Barriere d'Enghien les Bains over ten furlongs for fillies and mares completes the card.

Romanet said, "I am delighted that the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Lucien Barriere will form part of the Emirates World Series this year. It is appropriate for France's greatest race to join the most prestigious races around the world in horse racing's global championship. The staging of six group 1 races on one day at Longchamp will provide a programme that matches the best in the world and will focus the world's attention on Longchamp on the first Sunday in October."

Speaking on behalf of the Lucien Barriere Group, the leading luxury hotel and casino operator in France, Chairman Dominique Desseigne added "The Lucien Barriere Group is very proud to be the sponsor of one of the world's most prestigious race days and for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe-Lucien Barriere to be part of the Emirates World Series."

James E (Ted) Bassett III, chairman of the World Racing Championships said, "At the launch of the Emirates World Series in March 1999, France Galop had always made it clear that they wished to be incorporated in the Emirates World Series Racing Championship. However the integration of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe would be subject to the wishes of a new sponsor, at that time not confirmed. With the generous agreement of both France Galop and Lucien Barriere, we are now delighted to have received confirmation of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Lucien Barriere completing our planning process for stage 1 of the Emirates World Series. The choice of the races world-wide comprising the Emirates World Series was always based on the best race by country and the best race by continent. Like the other races in the Emirates World Series the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Lucien Barriere is in the premier league of world racing. We welcome their entry and we look forward to an exciting third championship year in 2001 which will include our friends and colleagues in France at France Galop and Lucien Barriere."

The Emirates World Series Racing Championship 2001 Races:

Dubai World Cup, Sponsored by Emirates, March 24, Nad Al Sheba

King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, sponsored by De Beers, July 28, Ascot, England

Arlington Million, August 18, Arlington Park, USA

Grosser Preis von Baden, September 2, Baden-Baden Germany

Irish Champion Stakes, September 8, Leopardstown, Ireland

Canadian International, September 30, Woodbine, Canada

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Lucien Barriere, October 7, Longchamp, France

The Cox Plate, October 27, Moonee Valley, Australia

Breeders' Cup Turf, October 27, Belmont Park, USA

Breeders' Cup Classic, October 27, Belmont Park

Japan Cup, November 25, Tokyo, Japan