Meetings on the move but horse transport restricted as temperatures soar

France has been gripped by record-threatening temperatures for the second time in the space of a month, with a knock-on effect to the racing industry.

The sport's governing body, France Galop, has announced that Thursday's twilight meeting scheduled for Longchamp will now be run at Deauville, next to the cooling influence of the English Channel.

Meanwhile the transport of livestock in the worst affected regions will be restricted between the hours of 1pm and 6pm under an emergency measure introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Longchamp's scheduled Thursday meeting has been moved to Deauville to avoid 40C+ temperatures in ParisCredit: Edward Whitaker

Temperatures in Paris reached 36C on Tuesday and are forecast to go as high as 42C on Thursday.

It is the second time in the space of a week that Deauville has come to the rescue, having hosted a pair of meetings last Friday and Sunday originally slated for Maisons-Laffitte.

Those cards were moved because of unsafe ground caused by the prolonged dry spell but it is the heat itself which is causing concern now, with meetings at Vichy and Mont de Marsan being brought forward to early morning starts in order that they are finished before 1pm.

Trainer Corine Barande-Barbe made her feelings on the matter clear in a series of tweets, questioning whether it made sense to make horses trained in Chantilly travel further in the heat, when temperatures in Deauville will still be in the high 30s.

On Tuesday only 16 of 81 regions across France and Corsica were not officially under an official orange heatwave warning.

A total of 77 horses have been declared for Thursday's meeting at Deauville, while Longchamp will still open its doors for the regular "Jeuxdi" party which was scheduled to accompany racing.

The restrictions on livestock movement imposed by the Ministry of Agriculture are unlikely to prevent most trainers getting their horses to the track, though transport companies may have to adjust their schedules.

The ban on movement for the five hottest hours of the day does not apply to vehicles carrying three or fewer animals, or for larger carriers equipped with either air conditioning of a combination of ventilation and misting sprays.

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