Exclusive interview with Elie Hennau

Article by Katherine Ford

Born in Belgium and raised at the dual-purpose gallop and trotting racecourse and training centre of Sterrebeek near Brussels where his father Max Hennau was responsible for around 80 horses and was a founding member of the European Trainers’ Federation, Elie Hennau was nominated as CEO of France Galop in January 2024. This represents a return to his roots for the former amateur rider who counts almost 100 wins from 600 rides after teaching himself to ride on a Shetland pony he received for his fourth birthday, and a new professional challenge at a pivotal time for French and international racing. 

Why did the position at France Galop appeal? 

My father taught me the love of horses and racing, competition and teamwork. That has forged who I am today, both personally and professionally. 

My parents pushed me to pursue a career out of racing but when I went to university, I declared that one day I would work in the industry. At 50 years old I was very happy in my role with AXA and didn’t expect to change careers, but I was passionate about racing and couldn’t pass up the opportunity. 

France has an extremely rich racing patrimony. We have 233 racecourses, 9000 thoroughbreds in training at around 20 public training centres, and extraordinary people. In addition, we are fortunate that the state understands the relevance of racing, under the guardianship of the Ministries of Agriculture and Budget.

I must also mention the PMU which generates 9.5€ of turnover annually, contributing to prize money and tax for the French state. Finally, the France Galop teams are renowned around the world. I have already proven in my career that I am capable of undertaking important transformations, and determined to take up the challenge for French racing. 

France Galop recently held a major promotional event in Paris, « les Chevaux dans la Ville » at the Place de la Concorde. Tell us about the objectives of this operation, and how pleased you were with the results. 

France Galop’s signature slogan is “des émotions à toute allure”, (emotions at full speed). Symbolically we wanted to take horses into the city, to the mythical site of Place de la Concorde, to demonstrate the emotions involved with our sport. The operation represented a strong symbol to reinforce the strategy of France Galop’s President, Guillaume de Saint-Seine, which is to bring racing back into the hearts of the French public. In France we have 233 racecourses and 2.4 million visitors, which is a significant amount, but we have lost in market share for bettors and many people are unfamiliar with racing and unlikely to consider a day out at the races. 

When people come to the races they want to see horses, and so we created a parade ring in central Paris to present our activity, and visitors were glued to the rails to get a close look at the horses. Attendance is important as racehorse ownership is a leisure activity and a large part of the experience is to win a race in front of a full grandstand. Nobody wants to watch a football match when the stadium is empty, even with the best players in the world. We would like to increase attendance levels to 3 or 4 million, in order to set up a virtuous circle attracting new owners, more runners, and more turnover. 

The “Horses in the City” event ticked all the boxes. We welcomed over 35,000 visitors and the operation generated a lot of interest from French media. All our collaborators who took part in the event, such as the AFASEC racing school, the National Racing Federation (FNCH), plus all the professionals who attended, felt great pride to be involved, and the City of Paris officials were able to see for themselves how the public engaged with the sport. 

The Arc Trials meeting converted the try with 8000 spectators, up 56% from 2024. This can’t entirely be explained by the Chevaux dans la Ville, but over 300 people used tickets picked up at the Place de la Concorde. We intend to deploy the operation in towns and cities across France in the future. 

As in many jurisdictions, the financial situation is difficult for French racing. France Galop announced in May a reduction in prize money of 6.9% for the second semester onwards. Explain the choices behind the structure of the reductions in prize money and premiums.

In France we are not confronted by affordability checks, but we do have some restrictions on betting activity, and these plus the economic context and events such as the Olympics which distracted people from racing last year, have had repercussions on betting turnover. The PMU activity still generates 9.5€ billion turnover, but its contribution to racing has decreased from 840€ million to 807€ million, of which 270€ million is prize money for flat and jumps racing. When compared to other European countries, France is the clear leader in terms of prize money. The situation is not grave, but we shouldn’t put our heads in the sand, we need to take responsible action. Rather than a problem, I see an opportunity to ask fundamental questions. When we know that our income is set to decrease by 20€ million to 40€ million, we must take measures to balance the books. 

We have a global reduction of 6.9% but at the same time our prize money is very high on a European scale. We have tried to make the most intelligent decisions possible to manage the different parts of the pyramid. At the top of the pyramid, Group 1 races have a different financial model as these are also funded by the entry pool and sponsors. We wanted to maintain international attractivity of our races to attract the best in the world and are proud this year to have so many Japanese runners, which also brings in income and preserves our position as one of the leading racing nations, which in turn will attract major owners to invest in horses in training in France. 

Races such as handicaps and claiming contest are important to maintain field sizes and turnover, so prize money for these races has been reduced by 4% in order to support this horse population and their connections. 

Owners’ premiums for French-bred horses are also very important to our system and we wish to continue to support these. France is the only nation in Europe with these bonuses. 

Structural reforms within the economic plan and notably savings for France Galop on the running of training centres such as Chantilly. How will these affect trainers? 

Human nature prefers to keep the status quo so when we make changes there are always reactions, that’s natural. However, to construct the future, our responsibility is to look at the situation and see what we can do differently. For example, training centre fees for Chantilly are 100€ per horse per month, for access to approximately 280 hectares of tracks with upkeep from almost 50 groundstaff. This equates to 3€ per day. There aren’t many leading international training centres which are as good value. Gallop fees are paid by owners and when asked if they saw a problem with paying 50 centimes more day per horse they replied that this is just a detail compared with the overall cost of having a horse in training. In the interest of horse welfare, we prefer to maintain the standards and review the pricing, while still remaining competitive, at around 50% of what is proposed abroad. 

Chantilly is a remarkable site but France has many other public training centres across the country, from Maisons-Laffitte to Deauville, Strasbourg to Senonnes, and Pau to Marseille, Dragey.. This variety offers something to suit all different training methods and budgets.

We have made reductions but also invested in the future, in our product, promotion, or tracks and facilities. It’s also important to remember that France Galop participates in the funding of regional racecourses, the AFASEC racing school and TV channel Equidia.

Over the past 12 months, two young British trainers, Amy Murphy and Adam West, have relocated to France, adding to an already-cosmopolitan panel of trainers here. Is this something France Galop wishes to encourage and facilitate for the future, and how? 

We wish to continue to welcome new talents, whether from France or abroad. It is positive to see many younger members of the profession enjoying great success and we are delighted to have talented people launching their career here. 

We have relaxed two licencing aspects which have been an obstacle to trainers setting up here. If a professional has significant experience, the number and level of previous successes can be considered in reducing the requirements for acquiring a French licence. Each case is looked at individually by the panel.  

We have also introduced an evolution concerning the language aspect. From now on we have a provision to complete the examinations in English. Speaking Voltaire’s French is not an essential quality to become a good trainer. We prefer our future trainers to have knowledge of horses, racing, clients and staff management. 

It is worth noting that there are 115 trainers registered in the Chantilly area, hailing from 20 different countries. Once they arrive, they rarely leave France! 

Tell us about the deployment operation that you and the France Galop teams have undertaken in 2025 to meet with trainers across the country to discuss ownership issues. 

In France, as elsewhere, racehorse ownership has undergone a transformation. Ten years ago in this country, 60 owners had more than 20 horses, today only 30 own more than 20, which mathematically leaves a large hole. At the same time, we have seen a large increase in co-ownership, however even though we have 20-30% more individual owners, this does not compensate the reduction of big owners. 

An ownership plan has been formed to work on the two axes of retaining existing owners and recruiting new ones. These include the popular French picnic at Royal Ascot which was launched several years ago by the FRBC, and a wide range of actions lead by Marie Rohaut and the Owners’ Department, including an operation with the female version of the MEDEF who visited ParisLongchamp and met with leading female racing professionals, partnerships with three-day-eventing, businesses, behind-the-scenes tours etc. 

It is important to realise that an owner is not a client of France Galop, but a member of France Galop. He is the client of a trainer, and so trainers should be associated with our work, both for retention and recruitment. 

We conducted a survey to establish whether France Galop fulfils its role to trainers, and vice-versa. The results are yet to be published but one important element which arose is a need for training, in matters like staff management and client acquisition. As a solution, we hope to establish a partnership with a French university to propose a course to assist new trainers with these aspects. For existing trainers, training modules will be created within the AFASEC to help them in these areas. 

With the French Trainers Federation, we are currently discussing the creation of a charter with reciprocal engagements. For example, France Galop expects that trainers communicate regularly with our members, who are their owners, that they communicate in a transparent manner with the press, etc. In return, France Galop will endeavour to provide an attractive ownership experience with high-quality facilities, competitive prize-money and prestigious race meetings.