Exactly 568 pages, more than a hundred historic press cuttings and documentary photographs, bustling work over a period of 25 years, which has morphed into an exceptional book, not only in terms of its extent and range, but also with its bold graphic conception. What led to the publication of Dostihy o modrou stuhu (Races for the Blue Riband), which maps out the history of the most prestigious flat race that every Czech jockey, trainer and racehorse owner wants to win?

Obituary: Dr. Jiří Janda

Dostihový spolek Pardubice press release

10-y-o bay gelding Sacamiro, owned by the Beňov Riding Section, justified his role as favourite and won the 133rd running of the Velka Pardubicka with Slavia Insurance. His jockey, Jan Faltejsek, raised his number of winning rides in the race to six.

(translated from the web site of the Jockey Club of the Czech Republic)

21 horses are being prepared for the 133^rd running of the Velka Pardubicka. Thursday September 7^th was the closing date for entries for this year’s Velka Pardubicka. The list contains 21 names, including one challenger from Fance, two representatives from Ireland and a number of very high-quality entries trained in the Czech Republic. The deadline for declarations to run is on September 27th.  

On September 2^nd, 2023, Jaroslav Myška rode Sexy Lord to his 286^th career win in the Melody Catering Stakes at Pardubice, and he now holds the record for the number of wins in a jumps racing career in the Czech Republic. He had become the joint record holder on June 24^th, also on that occasion riding Sexy Lord.

Filip Minařík, the most successful Czech jockey in history, tragically passed away on Monday at the age of 48. His wife Katja has asked  through the German media for no questions or condolences to be sent to his family.  Filip Minařík gained his first experience as a rider in Prague, but his greatest successes were at the racecourses in Germany, where he won the jockeys’ championship four times and won some of the biggest races,  including the Grosser Preis von Baden. He also rode successfully in Japan and in other leading centres of horseracing.

(Pardubice racecourse press release)

Argano turns a warm-up outing into a VP qualification race win

(interview and photo by Petr Guth, editor of Dostihovy svět. This interview first appeared on our Czech language pages)