Racing was called off at Longchamp yesterday after angry punters invaded the track following a strike by betting staff.

The French racing authorities initially decided to stage the meeting without betting after Pari-Mutuel employees went on strike, saying they had not received a promised two per cent pay rise.

But about 150 thwarted punters invaded the track in protest. "It's ridiculous that the meeting should take place without us being able to bet," said one.

Riders Olivier Peslier and Yutaka Take went to meet the protesters and said they wanted to race. But the organisers finally called the meeting off and said the group one Grand Prix de Paris, one of the three group races on the card, would be postponed to tomorrow.

That will now clash with another Paris meeting, a jumping fixture at Auteuil.

Meanwhile, three of Dubai's biggest races have been promoted to Group One status. The international cataloguing standards committee has confirmed that the Dubai Duty Free, Dubai Sheema Classic and Dubai Golden Shaheen, have all been elevated to the highest class.

They have also upgraded a trio for Group Three events - the UAE Derby, the Godolphin Mile and the third round of the Maktoum Challenge - to Group Two.

And the UAE 2,000 Guineas, the Jebel Hatta and the first and second rounds of the Maktoum Challenge will be Group Three events for the first time.

Japan's Takarazuka Kinen and the Singapore Airlines International Cup, won last month by Luca Cumani's Endless Hall, have both been made internationally recognised Group One events.