Race track offering free dung to help planet

Paris, April 09: Paris race-goers are to get a free bag of horse-dung next weekend, but not any old poop, a bagful of champion trotters` stuff.

In an operation titled "Champions` Dung," the Paris-Vincennes trotting track will be handing out "high-end, 100 percent natural, guaranteed non-genetically modified, French-origin" fertiliser on Saturday, organisers said. Advance samples were released Tuesday in a red velveteen jewellery-style box with a leaflet featuring a horse dropping on a red silk cushion. "When champions grow so do our plants," it said. The operation is aimed at dealing with the problem of the 20 kilos of dung produced daily by the country`s million-strong horse population. "Horse dung has a great reputation," said Cheval Francais, organisers of trotting in France. "When used on indoor plants or on balconies it improves the bloom, the colours and the life of flowers. "In a garden it does wonders for tomatos, potatos and roses." Bureau Report