(This press release from the organizers of events at Pardubice racecourse was issued on October 2^nd.)  

Congratulations to the organizers of European Jockeys’ Cup day. Despite the worst efforts of the virus, the meeting took place, and towards the end of the afternoon, rather surprisingly, the sun came out from behind thick clouds. French jockey Vincent Cheminaud smiled and said nice words as he accepted the trophy.

Dostihový

The raceday scheduled at Bratislava racecourse for September 19^th has been cancelled because of an abrupt change in the rules for Czechs travelling to Slovakia. The new rules state that Czechs crossing the border into Slovakia must now present a negative covid-19 test certificate not more than 72 hours old. As many Czech-trained horses were entered for the races, and in particular because 60% of the already-declared riders were Czech-based, the organizers decided that the best option was to cancel the event.

Trainer Gordon Elliot has informed James Fry of IRB that Out Sam, the only Irish-trained horse entered for this year's Velka Pardubicka, is a non-runner. Due to the coronavirus situation, the complications connected with attempting to send a horse over this year are simply too great. Gordon Elliot says that he hopes to be able to send horses over to Pardubice in future years. 

The 100^th Czech Derby was run at Prague Velká Chuchle racecourse on September 7^th. It was of course a pity to celebrate such a notable anniversary in front of a crowed limited to 1 000 because of the covid situation.

Last weekend, Josef Bartoš suffered damage to shoulder ligaments in a fall at Merano. He is expected to be out for at least three weeks, but should be back in the saddle well before October 11th, when he is expected to ride last year's winner, Theophilos, in the Velka Pardubicka.

The First of May Steeplechase was run at Lysá-nad-Labem exactly three months late, on Saturday August 1s

In the years since 2015, the European Jockeys’ Cup has won a fixed place for itself in the Czech horseracing calendar. This week, its organizers have come to the conviction that this year’s competition among star jockeys on the top horses in our region should not be frustrated even by the crisis linked with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The second meeting of our racing season was held, behind closed doors, at Prague Velk