An unfamiliar but welcome sight in August 2019 has been the colour of green grass. In recent years, our racecourses have been yellow or brown from quite early in July until mid-September, and this year, too, the grass was looking stressed by the end of July. Nevertheless, the better equipped Czech racecourses had made an effort to keep the racetrack itself watered. Since the beginning of the racing season here, the going has been mainly good, or good to firm.

This year the countryside turned yellow during the heatwave in July, but quite frequent rainfall throughout August has given the grass an opportunity to start growing again. That opportunity has been seized. There has been plenty of overcast and rainy weather, with mighty thunderstorms here and there. Nevertheless, it has remained warm. In particular, just about every night has been warm and humid. The forecast is for much milder weather from the beginning of September, and plenty of rain.

August 2019 has been an unexciting month for horseracing here. The upcountry race meetings that used to be a feature of July and August have gradually been drying up. Benešov and Albertovec used to be well worth a visit in midsummer, but it is a few years since either organized a race meeting. Mimoň did not have a midsummer meeting this year. Netolice, Brno, Svetlá hora and Kolesa seem to be maintaining their level of activity. Slušovice will have a total of five meetings this season, which is about its norm. Lysá-nad-Labem cancelled a meeting towards the end of August 2019 for technical and financial reasons, and will not hold any more meetings until 2020.

Overall, the number of meetings held in the Czech Republic in 2019 will be the smallest in recent years, with a considerable drop in the number of meetings at Prague Velká Chuchle. Velká Chuchle held the Derby on June 22nd, and will not have its next meeting until September 8^th, which is St Leger day. [*Sorry, my mistake, I forgot about the Friday evening meeting at Velká Chuchle in mid July.] The managers have said that they want to put on more events at the racecourse in July and August, and not to continue taking a long midsummer break, as in the past. However, what extra events they have been organizing seem to involve other equestrian sports, and not thoroughbred racing. We hope the present majority owner of Velká Chuchle is as committed to thoroughbred racing as he says he is.

As it has turned out, there will be only two racedays in the Czech Republic between Monday, August 12^th and Friday, September 6^th. These will be held at Karlovy Vary and at Most, not at any of the upcountry courses. A few years ago, we would have had one race meeting almost every Saturday, Sunday and public holiday from early in April until the end of October. Nowadays, we have fewer horses in training, and very many more horses that race mainly or exclusively abroad. It also seems that increasing numbers of owners and trainers of flat horses prefer the better-quality turf, the less tight circuits and the less firm ground at our main courses, Prague Velká Chuchle, Karlovy Vary and Most, rather than the simpler facilities and conditions at our minor courses.

The scarcity of racedays in the Czech Republic in a three and a half week period in August/September is not necessarily a disaster. The connections can give their horses a midsummer break, or they can and do take them to run abroad. The meeting at Dresden on August 25^th provided races suitable for average-quality Czech-trained horses to run in. Dresden racecourse is only about 30 km north of the border with Germany. On the same day, the truly modest meeting at Senica, in Slovakia, provided an opportunity for trainers in eastern Moravia to run even their least gifted horses.

Mainly, though, there have been opportunities for our better-class horses to make longer journeys, and to race for prizes considerably larger than would normally be available here. Let me make a list of the racecourses at which Czech-trained horses have run, or are entered to run, in the period between August 12^th and September 6^th:

Merano, Italy, 5 racedays

Deauville, France, 5 racedays

Vichy, France, 2 racedays

Baden Baden, Germany 2 racedays

Berlin Hoppegarten, Germany; Wroclaw, Poland; Budapest, Hungary; Vittel, France; Aarau, Switzerland; Bratislava, Slovakia; Clairefontaine, France; Dieppe, France; Warsaw, Poland; and Quakenbrück, Germany, one raceday each.

In most cases, only a small number of Czech-trained horses were/will be taken to these courses. However, on Thursday, August 15^th, there were 23 Czech-trained runners on the raceday at Merano, and in one of the races the first six horses were not only Czech-trained but were ridden by a Czech jockey. Ten days later, also at Merano, Czech trainer Ludvik Haris and Czech owner DAR had three winners on the flat and one over hurdles, and, in addition, Josef Váňa senior trained one winner at this same raceday.

The most closely watched Czech-trained runner in August was Nagano Gold in the Lucien Barrière Grand Prix de Deauville. Nagano Gold had finished 2nd in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot this year, and at Deauville he finished 3rd. After the race, trainer Václav Luka junior said that Nagano Gold might well run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, for which he is entered.

Nagano Gold is owned by a small syndicate including the trainer’s father, Václav Luka senior, who served as president of the Jockey Club of the Czech Republic for 17 years. The V3J syndicate is made up of sporting owners, who thoroughly enjoyed their outing to Ascot, and might well want to take up the opportunity of a lifetime to run their good horse in such a magnificent event as the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

When our autumn season starts, on September 7th, we can look forward to having two meetings almost every weekend in  September and October. Saturday, September 7th features the last of the four qualification races for the Slavia Insurance Velka Pardubicka, at Pardubice, and the following afternoon is Czech St Leger day at Prague Velká Chuchle. European Jockeys’ Cup day at Prague Velká Chuchle is on Saturday, September 28th. And, of course, there will be Czech horses, owners, trainers and jockeys competing extensively abroad – notably in the Wielka Wroclawska and in the Gran Premio at Merano.