Racing in Germany enjoyed a boom in the 1990s. More recently, however, the number of race meetings, especially over fences, has declined, though the quality of German-bred and German-owned horses has remained high.

In the 1990s, plenty of Czech-trained horses ran in Germany. Josef Váňa set up his yard near to the German border, and was at one time champion trainer over fences simultaneously in Germany and in the Czech Republic.

However, in more recent years, good prizemoney has been easier to win in Italy. In addition, especially for French-bred Czech-trained horses, France has become a more promising destination than Germany.

There are a couple of Czech-based trainers who train in the Czech Republic, mainly for German owners, and send their horses mainly to run in the eastern part of Germany.

This winter there will be three more race days at Dortmund and Neuss than last year, making a total of 13 days of racing and 103 races at those racecourses. Prizemoney is also rising in Germany.

Only a limited set of Czech trainers have been looking closely at the race conditions in Germany in recent years, and keeping horses in training in the winter months. Perhaps some more will decide that it is worth their while to send horses to run at Dortmund and at Neuss.