Jiri Chaloupka, winning jockey on Legenda in the Velka Pardubicka in 1979, died in a car accident on November 7th, a few days short of his 61st birthday.

Apart from his own achievements as a jockey and as a racehorse trainer, Jiri Chaloupka was part of the Chaloupka dynasty. His brother, Vaclav, rode the winner of the Velka Pardubicka four times, on Korok (3 times) and on Vaclav. This is the only case of two brothers winning the Velka Pardubicka. His son, Jiri jnr., has been one of our leading flat jockeys since he rode the winner of the Czech St Leger as a 17-year-old in 1997.

English-speaking followers of Czech horse racing offer our condolences to the Chaloupka family.