Chantilly under consideration for 2017 Arc as concerns grow over tight handover

Plans to return the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe to Longchamp in 2017 could be shelved over concerns the completion date for the track's redevelopment falls too close to the race.

It is understood that France Galop’s elected administrative council is next month likely to be asked by the executive to vote on whether to run the Arc at Chantilly – which hosts the race this year in what had been intended as a one-off arrangement – for a second year, rather than at its traditional home.

While the €131 million project is reported to be running to schedule, the 56 members of the council will hear the concerns of the executive at the September 12 meeting over the intended switch back to Longchamp and be urged to reconsider the risks involved in taking back the keys to the site in September 2017, less than a month before that year’s Arc.