96 HORSE-RACING IN FRANCE 



the cause of running in others), or, at the very worst, 

 an excellent ' piece de resistance ' at one of the esta- 

 blishments called ' Bouillons Duval.' 



And now a word or two about French racecourses, 

 commonly called ' hippodromes.' 



It has already been noted that as early as the time 

 of Louis XIV. (in 1651, 1683, and 1685) there were 

 evidently racecourses, whether temporary or perman- 

 ent, at the Bois de Boulogne, at St. Germain-en-Laye 

 (Acheres), and at Le Pecq (Le Vesinet) ; that in 

 Louis XV. 's time there was a racecourse at the Plaine 

 de Sablons ; and that in Louis XVI.'s there were con- 

 stantly used racecourses at the Plaine de Sablons, the 

 Eoyal Park of Vincennes, and Fontainebleau. Then 

 came a sort of blank till the time of the Empire, when 

 races were ' decreed ' at Le Pin and elsewhere ; but 

 there is scarcely a vestige left of them, and there is 

 hardly a scrap of information before 1819, from which 

 year there were Prix du Roi, or Prix Royaux, or Prix 

 des Princes, or all three sorts, run for regularly at the 

 Champ de Mars or elsewhere. 



From 1776 to 1833 (the close of it) there were 

 horse races, and therefore racecourses or ' hippodromes ' 

 of some kind, at the following places (and perhaps at 

 others not set down in the ' books ') : — 



