The press conference of the Jockey Club of the Czech Republic, held in Prague on January 19^th, confirmed that the doping test samples for Nikas, winner of the 2015 Velka Pardubicka with Česká Pojišťovna,contained the banned substances caffeine and theobromine. Jockey Club president Jiří Charvát stated that a detailed report had been prepared by a specialized laboratory in Newmarket, UK, which Nikas’ owner, Petr Kupka, had chosen for the investigation of the B sample. The case will now be handed over to the Disciplinary Committee (Pořádková komise) of the Jockey Club of the Czech Republic. At the press conference, Charvát refused to anticipate its verdict, but pointed out that the valid Rules of Racing for a positive finding of a case of doping specify that the horse shall be disqualified. “In my opinion, this norm is cogent, and does not allow for any other interpretation,” the president of the Jockey Club stated.

Ivo Štrauss, the leader of the Jockey Club’s doping committee, gave only his personal views at the press conference, on the basis of his acquaintance with the results of the investigation, stating that an “official” standpoint will be issued after the case has been dealt with. “On the basis of the materials that we have in our hands, it is clear that this was in no way a case of doping aimed at enhancing the horse’s performance or in some way suppressing pain. The amount of theobromine in the sample was only minimally in excess of the permitted value, and I think that it could not have influenced the horse in any way,” Štrauss declared. However, it appears to be beyond doubt that banned substances were present in Nikas’ samples, and the organs of the Jockey Club will have no option but to disqualify the winner of the Velka Pardubicka. An issue to be decided on by the committee concerns any further sanctions on trainer Popelka.

Stanislav Popelka issued an announcement today indicating that the horses [Nikas and Čáriray] were contaminated by food supplements, and that he and Nikas’ owner [Petr Kupka] will initiate a legal action. The final word on the case, as far as horseracing is concerned, will be spoken by the relevant committee. “I do not know when the Disciplinary Committee will meet, but we would like the result to be available before the last weekend in January,” Charvát said. Within the framework of the press conference, he praised the antidoping committee for significantly raising the number of tests carried out in Czech horseracing in the past year. In 2015, there were five positive findings for Czech horses. Three of them will be dealt with in the upcoming proceedings, and one is being handled by the Italian horseracing authorities. 

“Doping of racehorses is something that happens around the world, and we must come to terms with it.” Ivo Štrauss added. “In the recent past, there was a positive finding for a horse owned by the British queen, and there has been doping among horses owned by Arab sheikhs, and doping scandals have been dealt with in Australia,” he said, naming the biggest doping events in recent times. “In comparison with these scandals, an isolated outbreak of food contamination in the Czech Republic is a mere drop in the ocean. Unfortunately, it impacted the winner of our biggest race,” Štrauss added. 

The probable verdict that Nikas will be disqualified would mean that victory in the 2015 Velka Pardubicka will be handed to Ribelino, trained by Stanislav Kovář, owned by Lokotrans, and ridden by Pavel Kašný. 

Ironically enough, if Nikas is disqualified, 8^th-placed Modena will be moved up into the prize money, and will win CzK 150 000 for finishing 7^th. Modena is trained by Stanislav Popelka!

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This is a translation of a report on the press conference held by the Jockey Club of the Czech Republic at the Pařiž Hotel in Prague on January 19th, 2016. It first appeared in the Czech language pages of Dostihový svět, and was written by Petr Guth.