hen France-Galop announced in June that geldings will be allowed to run in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe from 2027, there was an underlying sense that action was needed to maintain the race's status as Europe's showpiece event. The Arc was officially the World's Best Horse Race in five of the seven years after the award was introduced in 2015, but has fallen short of rivals including the Japan Cup and the Breeders' Cup Classic since 2021 at a time when several geldings, including the French-trained Calandagan, have been among the world's top-rated middle-distance horses.

Yet even a brief glance through the leading contenders for this year's race at Longchamp on Sunday offers reminders that the Arc has a heritage and mystique that will always set it apart among the championship events around the globe. The names of the winners, both equine and human, retain their currency from one generation to the next.

Daryz, the favourite, will be the first male horse to win a second Arc since Alleged and Lester Piggott in 1978 if he comes home in front this weekend. Forty-eight years on, his main rival in the current betting is Maltese Cross – who is trained by Piggott's son-in-law, William Haggas. Next in the list is Andrew Balding, who with Kalapana, the King George winner, will attempt to bring an Arc trophy back to Park House Stables in Kingsclere, 55 years after his father, Ian, trained Mill Reef for his historic success in 1971.

There is a sense of generational shift too about the fact that Joseph O'Brien's Oaks winner, Thundering On, is a shorter price than any of his father Aidan's three remaining runners. And at longer odds, Criquette Head, a multiple Arc-winning trainer like her father, Alec, is the part-owner of Pearled Majesty, while Jean-Claude Rouget, a dual winner as recently as 2020 and 2023 with Sottsass and Ace Impact, will close out his 48-year career when he saddles Arrow Eagle.

An Arc winner is special in a way that cannot be summed up in a rating, and so too is the sense of anticipation that unites tens of thousands of fans – French, British, Irish, Japanese and more – as they head into the Bois de Boulogne on the first Sunday in October.

Daryz heads a list of 19 possible runners after the latest declaration stage for the Arc on Monday, and while one of those, Sunly, seems more likely to take up an alternative engagement on Saturday, John & Thady Gosden's Friendly Soul has earned a free supplementary entry via her win in the Prix Vermeille earlier this month and could be added to the field on Wednesday.

Meisho Tabaru and Admire Terra will attempt to snap Japan's 0-for-36 losing streak in the Arc, which stretches all the way back to 1969, while Aidan O'Brien's initial entry has been whittled down to three possible runners: Diamond Necklace, Minnie Hauk and Benvenuto Cellini.

So the field for Sunday's Arc is beginning to take shape, but there is still much to be resolved before the runners go to post, including the draw and the going, which remains unusually quick for this time of year in Paris.

A drop or two of rain has crept into the weather forecast for the rest of the week but at this stage, the ground still seems likely to be no slower than good. That is excellent news for Maltese Cross, but less encouraging for supporters of Thundering On, whose participation has yet to be definitely confirmed as her connections hope for some ease in the ground.

The draw for stall positions, meanwhile, will be made on Thursday morning – under "the supervision of a Commissioner for Justice", no less - but in another attempt to add to a sense of building excitement, the outcome will be kept under wraps until an "opening ceremony" on Thursday evening, which will be broadcast live on France-Galop's YouTube channel.

This deadline for declaring jockeys and equipment, meanwhile, has been extended to later on Thursday evening, so it is entirely possible that riding arrangements for Aidan O'Brien's three runners will be delayed until his first-choice jockey, Ryan Moore, knows where they are drawn.

Is the gimmickry entirely necessary? Probably not. But by Friday morning, the field will be set and thousands of racegoers will be packing their bags and setting off for Paris. The Arc may not have been the official best race of the year since 2021, but for many Flat racing fans, its unofficial status as the best race anywhere remains undimmed.