| Location: | Longchamp Racecourse |
| Winning Horse: | Dancing Brave |
| Previous: | 1985 |
| Next: | 1987 |
The 1986 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was a horse race held at Longchamp on Sunday 5 October 1986.[1] It was the 65th running of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
The winner was Dancing Brave, a three-year-old colt trained in Great Britain by Guy Harwood. The winning jockey was Pat Eddery.[2]
The winning time of 2m 27.7s set a new record for the race. The previous record of 2m 28.0s was achieved by Detroit in 1980.
The field is considered to be one of the strongest in the race's history.[3] Major races won by the runners in 1986 included;
The strength of the field and Dancing Brave's performance led to the race coming first in a Racing Post readers' vote in 2022 to decide the "Greatest ever horse race".[4]
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| Pos. | Marg. | Horse | Age | Jockey | Trainer (Country) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dancing Brave | 3 | Pat Eddery | Guy Harwood (GB) | ||
| 2 | 1½ | Bering | 3 | Gary W. Moore | Criquette Head (FR) | |
| 3 | ½ | Triptych | 4 | Angel Cordero | Patrick Biancone (FR) | |
| 4 | shd | Shahrastani | 3 | Walter Swinburn | Michael Stoute (GB) | |
| 5 | nk | Shardari | 4 | Greville Starkey | Michael Stoute (GB) | |
| 6 | 1½ | Darara | 3 | Yves Saint-Martin | Alain de Royer-Dupré (FR) | |
| 7 | 2 | Acatenango | 4 | Steve Cauthen | Heinz Jentzsch (GER) | |
| 8 | nk | Mersey | 4 | Freddy Head | Patrick Biancone (FR) | |
| 9 | 1½ | Saint Estephe | 4 | Cash Asmussen | André Fabre (FR) | |
| 10 | nk | Dihistan | 4 | Tony Kimberley | Michael Stoute (GB) | |
| 11 | 1 | Iades | 4 | Alain Lequeux | François Boutin (FR) | |
| 12 | 2 | Baby Turk | 4 | Alfred Gibert | Alain de Royer-Dupré (FR) | |
| 13 | 1½ | Nemain | 4 | Christy Roche | David O'Brien (IRE) | |
| 14 | 2 | Sirius Symboli | 4 | Maurice Philipperon | Freddie Palmer (FR) | |
| 15 | 1½ | Maria Fumata | 4 | Fernando Diaz | Juan Cavieres (CHI) |
Further details of the winner, Dancing Brave.