Jockey-Club de Paris
Encyclopedia
The Jockey Club de Paris is best remembered as a gathering of the elite of nineteenth-century French society. The club still exists at 2 rue Rabelais, and hosts the International Federation of Racing Authorities.
in 1834. It swiftly became the center for the most sportifs gentlemen of tout-Paris. At the same time, when aristocrats and men of the haute bourgeoisie
still formed the governing class, its Anglo-Gallic membership could not fail to give it some political colour: Napoleon III, who had passed some early exile in England, asserted that he had learned to govern an empire through "his intercourse with the calm, self-possessed men of the English turf".
Between 1833 and 1860 the Jockey Club transformed the Champ de Mars into a racecourse, which has been transferred to Longchamp. One front of the Café de la Paix
is in rue Scribe, which ends at the façade of the Opéra Garnier. On the wall a memorial plaque on the Hotel Scribe, at number 1, records the former premises of the Jockey Club, which occupied luxurious quarters on the first floor from 1863 to 1913.
During the Second Empire
and the Third Republic
, the gentlemen of the Jockey Club held numerous boxes at the Opera, "many little suspended salons
" in Marcel Proust
's phrase, where the required ballet expected in every opera was never in the first act, when the Jockey Club would habitually still be at dinner. One result was the famous fiasco of the "Paris Tannhäuser
" of 1861, when Wagner
insisted on inserting the requisite ballet into the first act, and the second act, with the members of the Jockey Club arriving to view their favourites in the corps de ballet
, was all but hissed off the stage: Wagner never permitted another production in Paris. Proust's Charles Swann
was a member, a fact that Proust more than once noted as a signal honour, given his Jewish background.
On the ground floor beneath the Jockey Club was the fashionable Grand Café. There, on 28 December 1895, a stylish crowd in the Salon Indien attended the public début of the Lumière brothers' invention, the Cinematograph.
The Jockey-Club is directed by an annually-elected committee of a president, four vice-presidents and twenty-five members. New members are sponsored by two current members and must receive five-sixths of the members' votes, unfavourable votes annulling five favourable ones.
, the first Sunday in June, since 1836. The race at the Hippodrome de Chantilly is the proving-ground of the best of the three-year-olds, the French equivalent of the Epsom Derby
run at Epsom Downs
or in the U.S. of the Kentucky Derby
.
Until 2004 the course was 2400 meters; since then it has been run at 2100 meters. In France, only the Prix de l'Arc du Triomphe has a richer purse (1,600,000 euros); that race was inaugurated by the Jockey Club in 1863 as the Grand Prix de Paris, and run at the Hippodrome de Longchamp
. The racecourse was painted by Édouard Manet
, Edgar Degas
, and Pablo Picasso
, among others.
History
The Jockey Club was originally organized as the "Society for the Encouragement of the Improvement of Horse Breeding in France," to provide a single authority for horse-racing in the nation, beginning at ChantillyChantilly, Oise
Chantilly is a small city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune in the department of Oise.It is in the metropolitan area of Paris 38.4 km...
in 1834. It swiftly became the center for the most sportifs gentlemen of tout-Paris. At the same time, when aristocrats and men of the haute bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
still formed the governing class, its Anglo-Gallic membership could not fail to give it some political colour: Napoleon III, who had passed some early exile in England, asserted that he had learned to govern an empire through "his intercourse with the calm, self-possessed men of the English turf".
Between 1833 and 1860 the Jockey Club transformed the Champ de Mars into a racecourse, which has been transferred to Longchamp. One front of the Café de la Paix
Café de la Paix
Café de la Paix is a famous café in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was designed by Charles Garnier, the architect of the Paris Opéra...
is in rue Scribe, which ends at the façade of the Opéra Garnier. On the wall a memorial plaque on the Hotel Scribe, at number 1, records the former premises of the Jockey Club, which occupied luxurious quarters on the first floor from 1863 to 1913.
During the Second Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
and the Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
, the gentlemen of the Jockey Club held numerous boxes at the Opera, "many little suspended salons
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
" in Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
's phrase, where the required ballet expected in every opera was never in the first act, when the Jockey Club would habitually still be at dinner. One result was the famous fiasco of the "Paris Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
" of 1861, when Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
insisted on inserting the requisite ballet into the first act, and the second act, with the members of the Jockey Club arriving to view their favourites in the corps de ballet
Corps de ballet
In ballet, the corps de ballet is the group of dancers who are not soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. A corps de ballet works as one, with synchronized movements and corresponding positioning on the stage...
, was all but hissed off the stage: Wagner never permitted another production in Paris. Proust's Charles Swann
In Search of Lost Time
In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past is a novel in seven volumes by Marcel Proust. His most prominent work, it is popularly known for its considerable length and the notion of involuntary memory, the most famous example being the "episode of the madeleine." The novel is widely...
was a member, a fact that Proust more than once noted as a signal honour, given his Jewish background.
On the ground floor beneath the Jockey Club was the fashionable Grand Café. There, on 28 December 1895, a stylish crowd in the Salon Indien attended the public début of the Lumière brothers' invention, the Cinematograph.
The Jockey-Club is directed by an annually-elected committee of a president, four vice-presidents and twenty-five members. New members are sponsored by two current members and must receive five-sixths of the members' votes, unfavourable votes annulling five favourable ones.
Presidents
- Lord Henry Seymour-Conway (1805–1859) : 1834-1835
- M. Anne-Édouard de Normandie : 1835-1836
- Napoléon-Joseph Ney, prince de la Moskova (1803-1857) : 1836-1849
- Comte Achille Delamarre : 1849-1853
- Armand de Gontaut-Biron, marquis de Saint Blancard (1839-1884): 1853-1884
- Sosthènes de La Rochefoucauld, duc de Doudeauville (1825-1908) : 1884-1908
- Aymeri, duc de Montesquiou-Fezensac (1843-1912) : 1908-1914
- Comte Elie d’Avaray : 1914-1919
- Armand de la Rochefoucauld, duc de Doudeauville, son of Sosthènes de La Rochefoucauld : 1919-1962
- Philippe, duc de Luynes : 1962-1977
- Charles de Cossé, duc de Brissac : 1977-1985
- Alexandre de La Rochefoucauld, duc d'Estissac : 1985-1997
- François de Cossé, duc de Brissac : 1997
Prix du Jockey Club
Under the patronage of the Jockey Club, the Prix du Jockey Club (1,500,000 euros) has been run at the racecourse of Chantilly at the foot of the Château de ChantillyChâteau de Chantilly
The Château de Chantilly is a historic château located in the town of Chantilly, France. It comprises two attached buildings; the Grand Château, destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s, and the Petit Château which was built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency...
, the first Sunday in June, since 1836. The race at the Hippodrome de Chantilly is the proving-ground of the best of the three-year-olds, the French equivalent of the Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
run at Epsom Downs
Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, England. The "downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course is best known for hosting the Epsom Derby, the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and fillies, over a mile and a half...
or in the U.S. of the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
.
Until 2004 the course was 2400 meters; since then it has been run at 2100 meters. In France, only the Prix de l'Arc du Triomphe has a richer purse (1,600,000 euros); that race was inaugurated by the Jockey Club in 1863 as the Grand Prix de Paris, and run at the Hippodrome de Longchamp
Hippodrome de Longchamp
The Longchamp Racecourse is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes in the Bois de Boulogne at Paris, France. Built on the banks of the Seine River, it is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tracks and a famous hill that provides a real...
. The racecourse was painted by Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
, Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
, and Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
, among others.
Further reading
- Victor Fell Yellin, Jacques Offenbach and the Paris of His Time
- Steven Kale, French Salons: High Society and Political Sociability from the Old Regime to the Revolution of 1848
- Joseph-Antoine Roy, Histoire du Jockey Club de Paris, Paris, 1958