** This was a substandard renewal of the race. It was the slowest Velka since 2002, although the going was good. Despite the slow race, horses started dropping out of the race by the 7^th from home, and by the third from home only three or four were still in the race. Only the first two finishers, Charme Look and, to some extent, Ange Guardian put in a good performance.

** The racetrack was in remarkably good order. There was almost no rain in Pardubice in July, August and September, and only a limited amount early in October. However, the course had been carefully watered. It is not easy to water a twisting crosscountry course, and Jiří Janda and his team deserve great credit for their skillful hard work. The obstacles were also well tended.

** By contrast, the spectator area is shabby. Only the Town Stand (Stand D) and small parts of Stands A and B are OK. The open-air seats offer very minimal comforts, and no comfort at all when it starts raining. To put on a national event of the importance of the Velka Pardubicka, this is not adequate.

** There is a need to give more people a good view of the racing. This does not necessarily mean a seat with a view of the course. The solution at other courses, for spectators who do not choose to pay a high price for luxury viewing, is to have a “tented city” with plenty of seating and services, well back from the course, and a terrace on which large numbers of people can stand to watch the races.

** With a large amount of money, Pardubice racecourse (and most other places) could be improved greatly. It is unlikely to happen until the course ownership conditions change. Currently, the racecourse is subsidized mainly by the Town of Pardubice, which is the main shareholder. The Town is not going to be able to divert enough money away from other public services to make the necessary improvements. At the same time, no “white knight” is going to make large investments in a course that he (or she) does not own.

** Our steeplechase riders do not get the credit that they deserve. Even the unsuccessful riders work hard on their fitness and skills, and on keeping their weight down. All riders take plenty of knocks. Their riding fees are low, as are the winners’ prizes from which they get a percentage when they ride in the Czech Repulic. This year, Josef Bartoš must again have earned good money, by our standards, as the top steeplechase jockey in Italy, but I also presume he has received many more IOUs than euros. The same will be true for Jan Kratochvíl, who rode Mazhilis, winner of the Gran Premio di Merano, and for Josef Váňa junior, who rides a lot in Italy.

** Jan Faltejsek, winning jockey in the Velka Pardubicka for the 4^th year out of five, will presumably get a nice percentage of this year’s winnings paid into his account without major delay. Only one jockey in history has ridden more winners of the race than Jan. Everyone should be celebrating Jan Faltejsek’s achievement a lot more. As the most internationally-active jumps jockey of all time, he has long been a hero of the English pages of Dostihový svět. Unfortunately, steeplechasing is a parochial sport, and his achievements in other administrations have been ignored, above all in Britain and in France. It is a matter for despair that this very good and experienced jockey still has difficulty in getting rides in the major steeplechasing countries.

** We need a campaign to promote our jumps jockeys as leading Czech sportsmen and household names. 64-year-old Josef Váňa senior is a remarkable personality, but he is a great historical character stealing the limelight that should now be shining on the next generation - the best half dozen of whom are every bit as good on the back of a horse as he ever was. Váňa will continue to be a great showman and a great personality, but it is time for us to promote Bartoš, Faltejsek, Váňa junior, Myška, and the more recently emerging Kratochvíl and Matuský, as top sportsmen.

** The future of the Velka Pardubicka is a matter for discussion. Does it matter that there were only Czech horses and riders in this year’s substandard renewal of the race? Look at the full grandstands and the television viewership, some say. It is a national event, and foreigners can come or stay away, as they like. Others agree with me that major sports events must be international nowadays. No doubt, the Velka can continue to live off Josef Váňa fever for a few more years, at a shabby, uncomfortable racecourse. But is it not time to start preparing for the future?

** The main issue with the Velka Pardubicka is that it is an old-fashioned race. There is nowhere in the world a major steeplechase run on a course with considerable features of 19th century steeplechases: fearful obstacles, water jumps, ploughed fields. The problem is that many of these features are no longer acceptable for a 21st century audience. Mainstream 21st century audiences do not respond positively to the big and frightening fence opposite the grandstand, to dangerously deep and wide water jumps and ditches that fallers need to be hoisted out of, or to very tired horses struggling though muddy ploughed fields. The question arises, How far can Pardubice go with making the race safer without destroying its uniqueness. A certain amount has already been done. The Taxis is no longer what it used to be, though the comparatively shallow ditch beyond it can still be fatal for a horse that jumps the fence too short. The water jumps have been made into narrow, shallow troughs with rubberized far sides. A horse can now usually get away with putting a foot in. The Velka is no longer decided on how well the horse jumps – like any other steeplechase, it can be won by a moderately good jumper that is having a good day, provided it has enough speed.

** This year, there were 15 runners in the Velka. At least ten more that had qualified for the race would have run in it if they had not been unfit. This unfitness was caused mainly by horses racing and training on hard ground and in very hot weather. The attrition rate was particularly high this year, as the summer months were particularly hot and dry. Further measures to reduce injuries to horses at Pardubice racecourse need to be pursued. Most of the scary obstacles have been made quite a lot less scary. The next step should be to reduce the amount of ploughed field that the horses have to run over.

** Pardubice racecourse was modelled on Aintree, as it was in the 19th century. As it happened, the designers of the Pardubice course visited Aintree in the year when the Grand National contained the greatest amount of ploughed fields. The amount of ploughed land at Pardubice racecourse has fluctuated over the years, and is less now than it was in the past. However, there is still a considerable amount of it. It is demanding for tired horses, and the repeated changes between grass and soil/mud/sand  put a lot of strain on their legs. I would like just a small, symbolic amount of plough to remain, perhaps in the loop between Fence 10b and the Wall (Obstacle no. 15). The rest of the course could be grassed over.

** Next year’s Velka will be on the second Sunday in October. According to my calculations, that is October 8^th, 2017. It will be a great spectacle and a great national event. I hope it will also move towards being a great event in the European steeplechasing calendar.

**