Each year, on the second Sunday in October, Czech Television puts on a remarkable day of horseracing, culminating in the Velka Pardubicka crosscountry steeplechase. The ČT sport channel shows the entire day of racing, beginning before 11 in the morning, and continuing until about 5.30 in the afternoon. The last hour and a half of the event is shown simultaneously on Czech Television’s Channel 1. No other sports event in the Czech Republic gets to be shown live on this ‘serious’ channel. There were more than three million viewers this year, plus those who followed the programme via the internet, and those who watched the race on TV abroad.

This coverage and the numbers of viewers indicate rather the importance of the Velka as a national event – and unfortunately not the status of horseracing in the Czech Republic, or the positon enjoyed by Czech racing in the competition among sports to be shown on television. For 364 days of the year, horseracing is a small sport here: the big sports are football, ice-hockey, tennis and winter sports, and they get the lion’s share of television time and funding. Horseracing gets limited television coverage. We have to find sponsors to support coverage, rather than charge the television companies for the privilege of showing the races. Only limited numbers of viewers watch other race days that are shown. Even the Czech Derby does not attract special interest. The private television companies do not show our racing.

Even worse is the mainstream press. It takes little interest, unless there is a scandal, such as the Nikas affair. It still promotes Josef Váňa as the world’s greatest jockey, and Marek Stromský as the world’sunluckiest jockey, and that is about it.

Thanks to the internet, it is easy to study Czech Television’s coverage of VP day in the weeks after the race. This year, the coverage was again very good. There were plenty of cameras, and there was a lot of good camera work. This year’s Velka was on October 8^th, the earliest possible date for the second Sunday in October. Autumn was only just beginning, and there was not such striking change-of-season photography as usual. A week later would have been better from that point of view. On the following Saturday, there was racing at Most on a glorious Indian summer day, and the autumn colours both at Most racecourse and on the journey to and from the course were stunning. The ride back to Prague with the sun beginning to set was wonderful, with a stop to buy excellent locally-grown apples.

The television personalities were the same as last year. Marek Svačina, doing the VP commentary for, I think, the 19th successive year, did well. I have questioned his preparation sometimes in the past, but this time he was on-the-ball, and his commentaries on the races were accurate and confident. Czech racing is fortunate to have this Czech Television commentator and personality as a well-informed racing fan who works on promoting Czech racing with his employer. Marek is a top tennis reporter, and, when the Olympics come round, he provides a commentary on a whole range of sports. Pavel Fučik is a very experienced part-time television reporter. He does the interviews, and is unfailingly well-informed, asks good questions, and never attempts to upstage the interviewee.

The second duo consists of Petr Kubíšek, a professional Czech Televison reporter, and Libor Šimůnek, an ex-jockey who was good enough to ride 49 winners over fences. It seemed to me that Petr Kubíšek, who has been appearing on VP day for several years, had been doing some homework. In the past, his understanding of horseracing had seemed to me to be a bit shallow, and to unravel in the course of a programme lasting more than six hours. This time, he was affable and competent, as usual, and never failed to ask Libor sensible questions, including questions from viewers. Libor Šimůnek knows everyone and everything, and never lacked a good and fluent answer, though he faced the camera a great deal. However, he was a little care-worn. I think he needs a colourful, light-hearted, controversial character, maybe a tipster, or a comedian, or another ex-jockey to lighten things up from time to time. There is a comedy actor who has been very actively involved in the European Jockeys Cup meetings - would he be available?

The other duo of performers on television on Velka Pardubicka day consisted of Barbora Černošková and Martin Šabata . Barbora is a popular TV personality, whose bubbly personality is loved by the television camera. A few years ago, she used to be the token woman on VP day television. She is still the only woman, but she is no token. Martin Šabata is the VP historian. I think this was his third VP day on television. In the past, he played the role of the geek in an anorak, for which this dear man is well suited. This year, he morphed into a bow-tie and a suit, which I thought was less suitable. Nevertheless, he told plenty of interesting stories about the old days, in response to Barbora’s promptings.

Well done, Czech Television. It was another remarkable afternoon of television. I sometimes say to myself that it might be fine to sit at home and watch VP day on Czech Television, instead of making the effort to go to the course. I would not in fact do it, as VP weekend is for meeting old friends who make the trip to Pardubice, and for meeting new people. But isn’t it wonderful to be able to watch it all again on TV, using the rewind facility, in the weeks after the race! 

Six hours of coverage of Velka Pardubicka day on Czech Television

http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ivysilani/11940228446-velka-pardubicka-2017/217471291200001-127-velka-pardubicka-s-ceskou-pojistovnou/