“Dreams are there to be fulfilled”, says Dostihý spolek manager Martin Korba 

Dostihový spolek a.s. Pardubice has a new manager. The Board of the association has appointed Martin Korba, a manager and a sportsman, to this post. For this father of four children, his family takes first place, but he is entering a new professional career with resolution.

Before we start to talk about your plans for Pardubice racecourse, please tell us something about Martin Korba…
I come from Varnsdorf, in north Bohemia, right on the German border. I’m married for the second time. I have four children. In my free time, I’m mainly a sportsman – I’m a football trainer for the youngest boys at Stolany sports club. I play softball in an amateur league, for the Morašice village team. The team’s called “Mor a Mšice”, which means “Plague and Blackflies”. I also like skiing. I’ve had a varied professional career. I spent ten years in the air force at Pardubice airport, next to the racecourse. In 1999, I started working for Makro (Cash+Carry grocery wholesalers), and I was there when we opened our branch in Hradec Králové. I also have experience of various managerial positions. For example, I managed the FUTURUM shopping mall in Hradec Králové, where I was responsible for operations, safety of customers, satisfaction of tenants and shopkeepers, and in general for running the biggest shopping mall in Hradec. I consider what I’m experiencing now to be the highpoint of my career so far, and a big challenge.

The first question that anyone might ask… What is the new manager bringing to Dostihový spolek a.s.?
Before I give an answer, we should be clear how a joint stock company works. It is run by the Board of the association, not by a single person called the manager. Until now, in a period of time when Dostihový spolek was being stabilized, the day-to-day running of the company was managed by the vice-chairman of the Board, Michael Skalický. Mr Skalický is a crisis manager, and now that Dostihový spolek is again standing solidly on its feet, he wants to concentrate on other activities. The Board therefore decided to fill the vacant racecourse manager position, with Mr Skalický remaining as vice-chairman of the Board. I’m glad that I applied to the selection committee. I have my plans, though of course the situation is that I don’t yet have detailed information about what is already projected or decided on. I tried to immerse myself more deeply in what’s going on at the racecourse before submitting my application, but there are things that I’ll still have to find out for myself.

Do you have some visions and plans? 
Generally speaking, I’d like to bring even more children and young people to the racecourse, to bring up a new generation of visitors to the racecourse. I think the previous management did a lot for this, and I’d like to continue the work. I’d very much like to use the racecourse in winter. An idea that I have for example is to join up with the promoters of an extreme event, a Spartan Winter Race over fences. I’m also looking to increase the safety for visitors to Pardubice racecourse. Of course, I also want to push horseracing forward. That’s naturally number one for our racecourse.

In what way do you want to push it forward?
Don’t expect a clear answer to this right now. I have some ideas in my head, but these are matters that I need to go into more deeply, and get more information about how things function or don’t function. I want to talk with a lot of people, and listen to their ideas, comments and suggestions. Racing is the family silver in Pardubice, and that’s what we must treat it as.

Does that mean making Pardubice races better known abroad?
We have the airport on the other side of the fence. I see some symbiosis with it. We can make travellers to Pardubice airport conscious of the racecourse, and give them information about the races. Not only people flying in, all visitors to Pardubice, the Pardubice region and the Czech Republic. I’d like us to speak more to the tourist industry, to tell people that there’s a racecourse here, where the oldest and toughest steeplechase in continental Europe is run. They can also come here when there is no racing, and they can look round the racecourse at any time, find out about its history, etc. I very much like the idea of building a Velka Pardubicka museum here. It’s an idea that Michael Skalický has started working on. I think it’s a very good idea. Of course, there needs to be a suitable place for it, so that it forms a part of the racecourse as a whole. A somewhat heretical idea comes to me of building a hotel, which could be used not only for tourism, but also for accommodation when there is racing on.

That is quite a big dream …
Dreams are there to be fulfilled. That’s how it should be. It’s just a matter of going for it. If it doesn’t work, and I know I’ve given my best, I can say with a clear conscience OK, let’s try something else. 

What will the 2016 season be like?
Successful, I think. This year’s events are already in motion. We have several public training events and hobby horse jumping behind us. Golfers have played the course of the Velka Pardubicka. Next week there’s an eventing competition. And the first race meeting is on May 7th.

Has the Agreement with the Jockey Club on providing race days been signed yet?
On the part of Dostihový spoleku a.s. it’s already been signed, and it’s been sent to Prague.

What innovations are there in Pardubice racing?
We want to attract more horses to steeplechasing, and to provide more chances for them to run. We’re therefore organizing more lower-category races. On the other hand, we have announced a Category II race over hurdles for 4-y-os and older, at the expense of a lower-category race.
I’d like to continue with efforts to put on another prestigious race instead of the Velka Pardubicka for the Crystal Cup series. It could be in the framework of the Velka Pardubicka horseracing festival. Simply to set up another high point in the season at Pardubice. It’s a matter of having interesting prize money, making it attractive for foreign stables, etc. We will try to negotiate again with the organisers of the Crystal Cup.