On August 16^th, a notice appeared on the Reality Dnes (Real Estate Today) server offering Lysá nad Labem racecourse for sale. Prodej dostihového závodiště, Lysá nad Labem | Reality.iDNES.cz. The announcement seems to have taken the Czech horseracing community completely by surprise.

The purchaser can buy only the racecourse, or the racecourse plus the adjacent land and facilities, which include a small training centre, or the racecourse plus the adjacent land and facilities, plus also an extensive two-floor house. The price is undisclosed.

Lukáš Palyza, president of Občanský spolek Hippodrom, organisers of events at Lysá nad Labem racecourse, said that he found out about the sale only when the notice in Reality Dnes was brought to his attention. The owner of the racecourse area, Jan Palyza, offered no comment.

Lysá nad Labem is a pleasant suburban commuter town, about 25 km east of Prague. The railway station has a good service to and from Prague, and the line continues to Hradec Kralove and Poland. There is also a line to Ustí and Labem. The station and the town centre are quite busy, but the racecourse is in a quiet location 30 minutes’ brisk walk away and adjacent to woodland.

Lysá is a popular small racecourse. One circuit of the tight, narrow flat-race track, is just 1 500 metres. Inside the flat track there is a steeplechase track, with a loop in the centre of the course. Lysá has hosted the Category I First of May Steeplechase for a long time, and in recent years a Category I memorial race for Eva Palyzová. These are significant races that are run on a well-prepared course. The flat course is cramped, but there are always enough runners in low-category flat races.

The  name of Eva Palyzová is very closely linked with the racecourse at Lysá. After Lata Brandisová, who won the Velka Pardubicka on Norma in 1937, Eva Palyzová is the most famous Czech female steeplechase jockey. She twice rode the second horse to finish in the Velka Pardubicka, Cavalet (1965) and Metál (1971). She won numerous races and was also a successful trainer. After the Changes in 1989, the racecourse was restituted to Eva Palyzová, whose son Jan inherited the property in 2011.

The First of May Steeplechase at Lysá is traditionally the first major race of the Czech steeplechasing season, and it draws what looks like a good crowd. However, 2 500 packed into a small space is not really a large number of paying customers. There are about 4 or 5 racedays per season - just three days this year. The sustainability of such a racecourse in the 21^st century is very doubtful, and a change of owner could well lead to a change in the use of the racecourse area.

Of course, the whole racecourse area would ideally be bought by a wealthy horseperson, who would ensure that the racecourse and the training centre remain open. A likely alternative, however, is that a developer will find a way to convert green fields and trees into concrete and steel and money.

Czech horseracing is probably going to continue to be concentrated into a smaller number of better-equipped, safer, busier, potentially financially viable racecourses. Lysá nad Labem racecourse may soon join the list of small courses that close down. Fortunately, the racecourse is not an essential element in Czech horseracing, and if necessary we will be able to find a new place to celebrate May 1^st and the new steeplechasing season in the Czech Republic.