Trainer Gordon Elliot has informed James Fry of IRB that Out Sam, the only Irish-trained horse entered for this year's Velka Pardubicka, is a non-runner. Due to the coronavirus situation, the complications connected with attempting to send a horse over this year are simply too great. Gordon Elliot says that he hopes to be able to send horses over to Pardubice in future years.
The 100th Czech Derby was run at Prague Velká Chuchle racecourse on September 7th. It was of course a pity to celebrate such a notable anniversary in front of a crowed limited to 1 000 because of the covid situation.
Last weekend, Josef Bartoš suffered damage to shoulder ligaments in a fall at Merano. He is expected to be out for at least three weeks, but should be back in the saddle well before October 11th, when he is expected to ride last year's winner, Theophilos, in the Velka Pardubicka.
The First of May Steeplechase was run at Lysá-nad-Labem exactly three months late, on Saturday August 1s
In the years since 2015, the European Jockeys’ Cup has won a fixed place for itself in the Czech horseracing calendar. This week, its organizers have come to the conviction that this year’s competition among star jockeys on the top horses in our region should not be frustrated even by the crisis linked with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The second meeting of our racing season was held, behind closed doors, at Prague Velk
The Czech horseracing season opened on a Monday afternoon at Most racecourse on May 18th. It was a late start, to the season, of course, but congratulations to everybody who ensured that racing, behind closed doors, took place at the first possible opportunity, on the day when the state of emergency in the Czech Republic was lifted.
Tomáš Hurt, who rode seven times in the Velka Pardubicka, has died suddenly at the age of 38. His biggest success as a rider was when he finished second on Decent Fellow behind Sixteen in the 2007 Velka Pardubicka. He gave up riding some years ago, and became a successful trainer, based at Benešov.
March 2020 was the month when the coronavirus burst into the headlines and ended up totally disrupting our lives. The Czech government was very quick to take action and to restrict the risk of spreading the virus. Coronavirus entered the country mainly via northern Italy, which is for obvious reasons a very attractive destination for skiing. And skiing and other winter sports are very popular in the Czech Republic.
On March 12th, the Czech Republic was the first country in Europe to announce a state of emergency and special measures aimed at reducing and regulating the impacts of the coronavirus epidemic. According to Czech law, a state of emergency can be announced for a maximum of 30 days, after which it may be renewed.
