Between September 10^th and October 8^th, central Europe offers three spectacular steeplechasing events, each of which can form the focal point of a remarkable long weekend excursion.

Wroclaw, Poland

This year, the Wielka Wroclawska Steeplechase and the Wielka Partynice Hurdle will both be run on the same day - Sunday, September 10^th. Steeplechasing at Wroclaw has undergone a considerable revival over the last 4 years. Though Czech trainers, jockeys and horses will again be well fancied for these races, their Polish counterparts are challenging more strongly each year. The prizemoney is good enough to attract German-trained horses and also horses trained in Scandinavia. Wroclaw is an attractive racecourse, and the town is well worth a visit.

Merano, Italy

Merano, in northern Italy, is one of the most beautiful racecourses in the world. The mighty Dolomites protect the town from the north, west and east, and produce a wonderful microclimate. Merano is a wonderful spa town that specializes in cosseting valetudinarians, that is, looking after wealthy old people who are prepared to pay in the hope of reversing the ageing process and the ravages of a wild youth. The Gran Premio Merano offers excellent prizemoney, and attracts chasers from France and the Czech Republic, and sometimes even from the UK and Ireland, as well as from Italy. Nowadays, many of the top Italian owners have their horses trained in the Czech Republic, especially by Josef Váňa. This year there is a two-day meeting, on Saturday, September 23^rd and Sunday, September 24^th. The Gran Premio will be run on the Sunday.

Pardubice, Czech Republic

This year’s Velka Pardubicka will be run at Pardubice on Sunday, October 8^th. There will also be races at Pardubice on Saturday, October 7^th, when two top hurdles races will be run.

This year’s VP will be the 127^th running of the famous race. RyanAir will be flying from Stansted to Pardubice from mid September. Pardubice is also very easy and inexpensive to reach by train from Prague. The more you drink and smoke, the more you save in the Czech Republic – but it is also the true that it is inexpensive to see top-class opera (Massenet’s Thaïs is on the the Theatre of the Estates on Friday, October 6^th) or a top-class ice-hockey match (both Sparta Prague and Dynamo Pardubice are playing at home on Friday, October 6^th.

**** 

Each of these three race meetings is held in a town and a region that is well worth a long weekend visit. Your plans for a memorable long weekend should include more than just horseracing.