Longtime France Galop and IFHA Leader Louis Romanet Dies at 78

Louis Romanet, one of the most influential administrators in international horse racing, has died at age 78, his death announced in a recent report. Romanet spent decades as a senior figure at France Galop and became the founding chairman of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities when IFHA was created in 1994, leaving a legacy that forces racing authorities to confront who will carry forward his drive for global rule harmonisation and anti-medication measures.

Romanet’s career in French racing spanned four decades. IFHAonline and other accounts state he served France Galop for 40 years and retired in 2007, after earlier serving as director general of the Societe d’Encouragement from 1986 and then taking a similar post at France Galop in 1998. ThoroughbredRacing records that he had been at the forefront of French racing administration for five decades. His move into global governance began with IFHA’s creation in 1994, when he assumed the chairmanship that, across different reports, has been described as a multidecade tenure.

Policy and rulemaking were central to Romanet’s public profile. He campaigned openly to outlaw performance-enhancing drugs and to harmonise rules across jurisdictions. In his own words published in ThoroughbredRacing, Romanet said, “we would like to stop medication worldwide in racing. It is fact that we currently have different rules in different countries. We need one body responsible globally, and, if we could appoint and recognise that one body, it would be a big change. Racing needs the same whip rules, the same rules on interference, the same rules on medication. Ideally, we would have total harmonisation in all countries.” He tempered that ambition with realism: “Frankly, I don’t think we can do it. Unfortunately, we are not an Olympic sport.”

Recognition for Romanet’s international work was explicit. BloodHorse records that he received The Jockey Club Medal on Oct. 8, presented by Alan Marzelli at the IFHA annual meeting in Paris, and IFHAonline notes he was awarded Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun among other honours. Family connections to the sport ran deep: IFHAonline documents that his grandfather and great-uncle were linked to the creation of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1920, and Romanet often cited the 1965 Arc won by Sea Bird as the most impressive race he had ever seen.

Romanet’s leadership also shaped appointments of technical staff. ThoroughbredDailyNews reports that when Dr. Devolz became IFHA technical advisor in 1994, the IFHA was chaired by Louis Romanet; Devolz went on to serve nearly 30 years and was recognised at the IFHA General Assembly in Paris in October 2023. Henri Pouret, deputy CEO of France Galop, paid tribute to Devolz’s contributions in that notice, underscoring the network of technical and administrative figures Romanet worked with over decades.

Louis Romanet’s death closes a chapter in French and international racing administration that combined family legacy, top-level honours, and an unambiguous push for rule uniformity. With Romanet gone at 78, France Galop and IFHA leadership inherit the task of advancing or rethinking the medication bans and global rules harmonisation he championed.