The explanation for the cancellation of the last of the three races in the Josef Vana Cup series of classical steeplechases is that the sponsor was unable to raise the money. The race was to have been held at Most Racecourse on August 31^st.

Josef Vana, who has lent his name to the series and has been actively involved in organizing the races, together with film director and owner of Sixteen, Jaroslav Boucek, told Dostihovy Svet:

“We’re not happy, but since the Ministry of Agriculture did not in the end release the contribution that it had agreed to, we wouldn’t have been able to get the money together. We’re not happy about the outcome, but we were relying on the Ministry doing what we had negotiated. However, the present leadership of the Ministry did not support our project.“

Czech racing is thus yet another victim of the instability of Czech political life. When the government fell a couple of months ago, the minister of agriculture who had given his undertaking to Josef Vana was replaced by a new minister from what is now a caretaker government of ‘experts’, which will manage affairs until after the general election, which will be held, prematurely, at the end of October.