Prix Jean Prat metres. For a period it was held in April, and it served as a trial for the Prix du Jockey Club. Both Prix Biennal races were renamed the Prix Jean Prat in 1940. This was in memory of Jean Prat (1847–1940), a successful racehorse owner and breeder. The version for three-year-olds was switched to late May or early June in 1961. It was shortened to 1,850 metres in 1962. It was transferred to Chantilly and cut to 1,800 metres in 1967. The present system of race grading was introduced in 1971, and for several years the event held Group 2
Jockey Club Gold Cup Dancer, Nashua, Citation, Whirlaway and War Admiral. Despite the current $1,000,000 purse and Grade 1 status, the stature of the race has suffered somewhat in recent years thanks to the emergence of the Breeders' Cup Classic held not long afterward, as well as a change in distance to miles in 1990, reducing its distinctiveness. Part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, the winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup automatically qualifies for the Breeders' Cup Classic. Before it was known as the Jockey Club Gold Cup, it began as the Jockey Club Stakes. This was its name when Man o'