(a press release from the organisers of horseracing at Pardubice)

The 2013 horseracing season in the Czech Republic has moved into its second half, and this is a suitable time to make an evaluation. How does Dostihovy Spolek manager Michael Skalický see things? Is he satisfied with the way the season has gone, and what plans does he have for the second half of the season?

Mr Skalický, you took over as manager of Dostihovy Spolek at the beginning of this year, when preparations for the season were were being made. What plans did you come up with?

I had several targets, and all of them aimed at the same result – to ensure that the season would run smoothly from all points of view, with high-quality races and bigger attendances. The Association’s bottom line depends on this. If the bottom line is good, this is reflected in other activities at the racecourse.

Can you be more specific?

The main consideration was to stabilize Dostihovy Spolek financially. Last year, we were in fact able to end up with positive figures to the extent of some million crowns, but the accumulated losses of previous seasons still hang over the Association. Specifically, this has meant reviewing the agreements with suppliers, and reworking the business strategy and the forms of our offers to to business partners, to make them more attractive for both sides. For myself, I have also got to know about the horseracing environment and I’ve been trying to find out how it works. I was very pleased that owners, trainers and jockeys took up my invitation to a meeting on the first racing day. I listened to a lot of ideas and opinions.

 Let us leave economic matters aside for a moment. What did you expect from the season in sporting terms?

Interesting races and attractive viewing to bring in the crowds. Racing is not just a sports business. It is also a social event and a family entertainment. I did not want people to come racing only for the Velka Pardubicka, but to come for all the other race meetings, beginning in spring. We have offered some new types of races, on an experimental basis. Some people were against this, but in the end there has been some interest in them.

You are speaking about bumpers, races for young potential chasers?

Yes, bumpers are a type of race that is quite normal abroad, but they are something new for us. We have tried running them on Friday evenings. We were afraid the horses would run in front of empty grandstands, but people have come, though of course not in their tens of thousands like for the Velka Pardubicka. The lists of runners give me the impression that owners and trainers are interested in bumpers.

Are you going to contintue with bumpers?

It is a matter that we will still have to talk about with the board of Dostihovy Spolek. We must now evaluate the whole situation, compare outgoings with incomings, and then make a decision. We have not yet included them in the calendar for the second half of the year.

 But bumpers have not been the only races.

No, certainly not, they have only been a small part. We prepared six racing days, with interesting races. Two of these days included qualification races for this year’s 123rd running of the Velka Pardubicka with Česká pojišťovna. At the beginning of June we put on the 20th running of the classical steeplechase with a good name: the Gold Cup. Its winner, Khalsani, went on to win the first of the series of three Josef Vana Cup races. That was at Karlovy Vary, the next race will be here, and the third at Most racecourse. The name of Josef Vana, eight-time winner of the Velka Pardubicka, ensures that there will be a good-quality field, and an exciting race for spectators and, in particular, for the betting public. The prize money of a million crowns also makes the race attractive for the horses’ connections. 

The racecourse environment also helps to provide satisfied racegoers. Pardubice racecourse has been struggling with an obsolete irrigation system, and the stands are in need of reconstruction and refurbishment. Have you managed to do anything about these matters?

Investment in the racecourse infrastructure is still a bit of a problem. We have managed to supplement the irrigation system, and this has made its mark on the state of the course. In spring, before the beginning of the season, although there was still snow lying on the ground, we managed to work on the course and on the ploughed fields, to stop water lying on the surface, we cleaned out about two kilometres of ditches and sowed about twenty hectares of grass. We also sanded and aerated the turf, which helped us when there were long periods of rain and floods. Water did not stand on the course for so long, and was absorbed better than in the past. Thanks to this, we were also able to lend a helping hand when Prague Velka Chuchle racecourse was flooded, and to run some of ‘their’ flat races here.

I’m afraid we have not done much yet with the grandstands. It is in our plan to repair them, to glaze some of the boxes and offer more comfort for visitors to the races. However, it is a question of money. We have managed to do some small repairs and repainting, painting some handrails and parts of the stands. There is still a lot of work for us, and for the owners of the stands – the Town of Pardubice – to do.

So how do you evaluate the first half of the season?

As an average overall grade, I would say “good – B+”. We have got several things done successfully, while other things will require some more work. The race meetings have gone well, with fields full of good names. The weather has been kind to us, spectators have come, and have supported their favourite horses. We need to improve the infrastructure, which will involve finding money in collaboration with the Town [of Pardubice] and the shareholders [of Dostihovy Spolek] for some quite extensive investment in the grandstands and other infrastructure items, such as toilets and catering. We are managing to organise accompanying programmes, and to enrich the whole horseracing season. The next event is the Velka Pardubicka family carnival, which I am personally looking forward to a lot. We are now also giving our attention to the Horses in Action show, which takes place in September. Then there will be the 123rd running of the Velka Pardubicka with Česká pojišťovna, the highpoint of the horseracing season. Fifty-nine horses are entered, 18 of them from abroad, mainly from the United Kingdom and from Ireland. We will see how many fulfill the qualification requirements and really will appear at the start of the Velka Pardubicka. In any event, this interest in the race shows that racing has a good reputation Pardubice within and beyond the borders of the Czech Republic.

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Dostihovy Spolek has organised events at Pardubice racecourse for the last 20 years. Its majority shareholder is the Town of Pardubice. Its original small shareholders were mainly local sports fans who wanted to rescue the Velka Pardubicka. For most of the last 20 years, Dostihovy Spolek has made losses, and the Town has in one way or another subsidized the racecourse. There has always been some acrimony within Dostihovy Spolek, but it reached a very high level let us say 5 or 6 years ago and remained very bitter until 2012. Last year, Dostihovy Spolek turned in a surplus, thanks to a very profitable warm and sunny Velka Pardubicka day. At the beginning of 2013, Dostihovy Spolek appointed Michael Skalický to fill the vacancy for a racecourse manager.

Shortly afterwards, a new major shareholder appeared, the company headed by Richard Benýšek, a well-known crisis manager and a close associate of the ‘richest Czech’, Petr Kellner. Richard Benýšek, who is new to racing, but has run a company dealing with recreational horseriding, had himself appointed Chairman of the Board of Dostihovy Spolek, replacing Dr. Tlučhoř, under whose short period in charge, reconciliation broke out within Dostihovy Spolek and a surplus was made http://www.dostihovy-svet.cz/en/node/1316.

The press release translated above is probably fair enough as far as it goes. Some good work does seem to have been done on improving the the racetrack and the irrigation system (over the last 18 months). The grandstands, apart from the Town Stand, need a lot of attention. We have indeed had favourable weather for all meetings so far this year, but in my opinion the attendances have been only modest. I hope Friday evening evening racing will continue, but just five races, with only bumpers and Category IV hurdles races, is not attactive enough. My evaluation for the racing so far this year might be a little less than good: B+, more like OK, B. Failure to update the Pardubice racecourse English language website after material was submitted seems to me an example of a weak point.

The problem with this interview for me is that it fails to ask or answer the real questions. These are: 1. What level of interest do Richard Benýšek and Petr Kellner have in Pardubice racecourse? They have plenty of other, bigger enterprises. Do they have big plans for the racecourse, or is it perhaps just a present for Petr Kellner’s daughter, who rides?  2. What is the relationship between Benýšek/Kellner and the Town of Pardubice? As long as the Town owns the racecourse, it is hard to see why Benýšek/Kellner should invest in it. It is hard to see the Town making a major investment, whereeas Kellner has very deep pockets.  3. Do Benýšek/Kellner intend to buy up the Town’s shareholding, and if so, how and when? 4. What is the relationship between Richard Benýšek and Michael Skalický? Benýšek did not hire Skalický – will he want to bring in his own man?

These matters are probably not mentioned because Michael Skalický himself does not know the answers. In any case, it is only a press release.