Vladimír Tlučhoř is the new leader of Dostihovy spolek, negotiations among the shareholders continue
A press release by the Town of Pardubice
Since yesterday (Dec 22nd), Dostihovy spolek Pardubice has had a new chairman of the board, veterinary surgeon Vladimír Tlučhoř. At the same time, President of the Jockey Club Václav Luka was co-opted to the board. Negotiations between the Town and the minority shareholders of the association have been continuing.
“We had to make changes in personnel after the previous chairman of the board, Jan Němec, resigned from his functions. I personally did not want him to go. Mr Němec put in a great deal of work, and to imagine that he and the board could have succeeded within a matter of months in dealing with all the problems that had accumulated in the association over the years would be absurd. It seems to me all the more insolent when those who contributed personally to the long-term problems of the association now nod their heads wisely and say that the departure of Mr Němec is the only correct solution, and call for further departures from the leadership of the association,” says mayor of Pardubice Štěpánka Fraňková, who is at the same time a member of the board of Dostihovy spolek, not attempting to conceal her exasperation.
“The election of Vladimír Tlučhoř seems to me to be a good solution in the present situation. Mr Tlučhoř has moved in the equestrian environment and in Dostihovy spolek for a long time, and also has experience of managing a company. I therefore want to believe that he will be capable of functioning as a manager and that he will at the same time be accepted as an expert by people from the world of horses. The board membership of Jockey Club president Václav Luka should also contribute to this,” the mayor adds.
Representatives of the Town Hall, as the majority owner of Dostihovy spolek, met yesterday with small shareholders and again discussed necessary stabilization measures for the association. They again stressed that the Town does not intend to provide any further loans for the association. Nevertheless, these will be needed in the event that the general meeting decides to reduce the basic capital of the association, as proposed by the small shareholders. The Town continues to promote the option of raising the basic capital. At the present time, it is preparing a new variant of this stabilization measure in way that will go as far as possible to meet the objections of the small shareholders.
Another current topic is the third offer of cooperation sent to the Town by jockey Josef Váňa. “This time the proposal was to rent the racecourse for twenty years. At the present time, I can only repeat what has already been said several times. We do not refuse to collaborate with Mr Váňa, and we totally respect his specialist knowledge and that of his team. However, his offers in no way resolve the financial situation of the association, and I see a second problem in the wording of the law on concessions. After consultations with lawyers, I can see no legal way to entrust the operation of the racecourse directly to Mr Váňa without announcing a due tender for the concession,” Štěpánka Fraňková explains.
Thus the priority at this moment remains to find some common language between the Town and the small shareholders in the matter of the financial stabilization of the association. Setting up a working group made up of representatives of both sides would help in this. The outcome of their meetings should be a generally acceptable proposal that can be successfully voted through at the general meeting of Dostihovy spolek in February.
Ondřej Tušl
Press spokesman, Town of Pardubice