The horse is a mythical animal in Provence. White and free in the Camargue, disciplined and fast on the two race courses in the Marseille city. And between Aix and Marseille, the jockeys even have their own school. Guided tour… on the trot!
The Pont de Vivaux racecourse
The unmissable meeting place for golf enthusiasts!
The Marseille Pont de Vivaux racecourse is made up of two tracks:
- one is made of fiber shortbread, ideal for the dish
- the other is pozzolan, which is perfect for trotting.
Entrance is free for women and children under 16.
The racecourse has 13 000 places including 4 seats and you can have lunch in its panoramic restaurant.
There is also a tavern and a bar for those who opt for a quick meal.
To get there, the easiest way is to have a car because the racecourse is located in the direction of Cassis, after the Capelette district.
Guided tours are possible in groups of 15 people or more.
Over 365 days, the racecourse hosts 297 races, placing it 9th in the national ranking of French racecourses.
Borély racecourse
This is the historic racecourse! The first meeting took place on November 4, 1860.
In 1999, the Borély racecourse, located on the seafront in the 8th arrondissement, underwent a major technical and aesthetic renovation.
Today, it fits perfectly into the landscape.
The racecourse adjoins Borély Park and Borély Castle which houses the museumof earthenware and decorative arts
At the heart of the trotting and galloping tracks, you can even play golf there as there is a 9-hole course.
It hosts races more sporadically than the Marseille Pont de Vivaux racecourse, but these are prestigious events such as the Grand National du Trot or the Grand Prix de Marseille.
The AFASEC horse racing school in Cabriès
AFASEC – Association for Training and Social Action of Racing Stables – was born in 1988.
Its purpose is to train employees of racing stables throughout their professional careers. It is a demanding vocational program . Students are required to live in the boarding school and must maintain a fairly rigorous pace.
Training rider, jockey, traveling boy, trainer: whatever the specialty that is chosen, the start of lessons coincides with sunrise and leisure time is rather rare.
To fulfill its missions, AFASEC has nearly 300 employees spread across fifteen sites in France, including that of Cabriès located between Aix and Marseille, in operation since 1980.
This site has 14 hectares of grass trails and 12km of sand trails.
In total, in France, AFASEC trains 700 students per year.
