This coming Sunday is France's big race, the Prix d' Amerique being held at Vincennes in Paris. Here is a commercial promoting the big event (in French):
The Prix d' Amerique is perhaps the greatest harness racing in the world and odds are you won't see the race. If you are fortunate enought to be able to watch the race, there is a good chance if you are betting, you will be doing your handicapping will be little more than guessing, knowing little about the contestants in the race.
Yes, the Prix is run in France, but for such a major race, you would expect part of their website would be in English to accomodate the international significance of the race. Well, you would be wrong. Yes, I took French in high school, but it has been many years since I had to use my French skills so short of a few words (such as bonjour and merci), one inappropriate phrase, and one curse word, my ability to comprehend French ranges between extremely limited to non-existent. For races of such magnitude, websites should offer versions in the major languages of the world; something we should learn in North America as well (If you have any level of French ability, visiting the site http://www.pmu.fr/ (France's OTW site) a few days before the races as it may offer you some minor assistance, in that you will be able to get some type of program to look at. Note: Someone found a link to an English translation of the Prix's website.
Yes, you may read a few stories about some of the contenders for the Prix at the USTA or other industry websites, but it really is hit or miss and usually concentrates on the top choices. The best story on the race thus far is on Harnesslink's website., but even this I would not want to depend on for handicapping a race.
As for the program which may eventually be available for you; it is once again a perfect example of the need to standardize some of the information so bettors all over will have information to work off of. Of coursre, this asssumes you are able to track a program down in the first place.
So this Sunday, I may be watching the Prix d'Amerique but I won't be wagering. It shouldn't be this hard to handicap a race.
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