I am not a person for whom horse racing is the most important thing in the world. It is more like a pleasant escape from the real world. I have needed this escape in the last few days. June 2016 was, for me, the lowest point that my home country, England, has ever hit, and I am not sure that we have bottomed out yet. I mean to say, getting beaten by Iceland may not be the worst thing that is going to happen to us!

Only joking, unfortunately! The vote for the UK to leave the European Union was an even more serious disaster - a combination of ignorance, stupidity, blundering and incompetency. The ignorant majority has voted to take all of us Brits out of the civilized world and into an unknown place, where the British politicians who have failed us so badly will no longer have to meet European standards, where the most ignorant can decide how low we will sink.

No such catastrophe struck the Czech Republic this June, I am glad to say. In fact, in the last couple of years the country seems to have been enjoying a period of fairly responsible political leadership, quite good economic growth and low levels of unemployment. It is a beautiful country, and June was again a good month to be in Prague. I could complain about a lot of things, of course, but this was a month to be glad to be away from home, living in a civilized city, working with good people, and going to the races every weekend.

We had mainly mild weather in June, and a reasonable amount of rainfall, which included some local storms. The Saturdays and Sundays at the racecourse were mainly pleasantly warm. Unfortunately, though, there was a period of three days when it was very hot, and these three days coincided with the two most important race meetings in the month. Czech Derby day, June 23rd, was hot, even at 7.30 pm, when the big race was run. Fourty-two hours later, at 1.50 pm, the second qualification race for the Velka Pardubicka was run at Pardubice in extremely hot conditions.

Both of these major races were run at non-standard times to fit in with the television schedule. I have long been an advocate of evening racing at Prague Velká Chuchle in June and July. It would suit me fine to go straight from work to the racecourse, but it has to be admitted that not all race fans live or work as near to the course as I do, or can get away reasonably early in the evening. Nobody knew how many racegoers would come to the Derby on a Thursday evening. The crowd, as it turned out, was not disastrously small, though it was less than we normally get for the Derby on a Sunday afternoon.

At Pardubice, we had had a remarkably small crowd on Gold Cup day, but the 2^nd qualification race day attracted quite a good crowd, despite the heat. No doubt, the size of the crowd was boosted by the publicity surrounding the fact that Josef Váňa senior was riding. Váňa got round pretty well, in 7th place, on Rabbit Hawk Wing. I will make time to translate an interview made after the race with Josef Váňa. This interview, made by Petr Guth, first appeared in our Czech-language pages. Josef Váňa senior will ride again this Sunday at Karlovy Vary, in the first of the series of Josef Váňa Cup classical steeplechases. He will be on A Pigalle, a horse that he trains for an Italian owner. A Pigalle has quite a good record in France, but will be running for the first time in the Czech Republic. Karlovy Vary is Josef Váňa’s local racecourse.

The conditions have been announced for the second running of the Josef Váňa Grand National, sponsored by Agrofert, to be run at Prague Velká Chuchle on Sunday, August 28th. The race is an oval-track classical steeplechase to be run on grass. There will be a total of 13 fences. I understand that the same temporary plain fences as were used in last year’s first running will be used again this year. The race distance is 4 500 metres. The prize money is one million crowns, about EUR 37 000.

The cost of entry and declaration to run is very reasonable by Czech standards: CzK 8 000 for entry, and CzK 10 000 for declaration. In addition, it is not necessary to enter at an early date. Entries close at midday on August 18th, and declarations must be made by August 23rd, at 10 a.m. There is prize money for the first seven finishers.

August 28th will be an attractive day of racing in Prague, as it features not only the Josef Váňa Grand National, but also the Czech St Leger. This could be a good time to arrange to be in Prague. Other good racedays at Prague Velká Chuchle in the autumn are the Autumn Festival meeting, on Sunday, September 11th, and the second European Jockeys Cup meeting, which will be on Saturday, September 24th.

Over fences at Pardubice, the remaining meetings this year are on Saturday, August 20th (August VP qualification race), Saturday, September 10th (September VP qualification race), October 8th and 9th (the Velka Pardubicka meeting), and October 22nd, (the final meeting of the season).

Our season, as usual, divides into three parts. The spring season runs until the 2nd VP qualification race at Pardubice and the Czech Derby at Prague Velká Chuchle, which are over before the end of June. Then there is a period of almost two months, beginning now, when our two main courses are closed. There are meetings most Saturdays and Sundays, mainly at small up-country courses. The only major races on the flat will be run at Karlovy Vary, which has two meetings in July and two in August. This year, the Oaks will be run at Karlovy Vary, on Sunday, July 24th. Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) is a very attractive and famous spa town, and is worth visiting for much more than just the races. The autumn season begins quite early this year, with the August VP qualification race at Pardubice on August 20th.

By then, I hope, the UK will have hit rock bottom, and will have begun to bounce back. England could arrange a match in Reykjavik, for the women’s team if not for the men’s, the referendum vote will have been annulled, and if we send a delegation of Brits to Brussels to apologize abjectly to our EU partners, I volunteer to be one of them.