December 2009 newsletter
When the month comes to an end, we will probably be told that we have had the warmest November ever recorded in the Czech Republic. This always used to be a wretched, dark, chilly month, in which hardy colleagues would wax their skis and claim to enjoy the crisp coldness. By contrast, this year has given us a series of short mild, sunny days and long frost-free nights. Our racing season was extended until November 8th, but could have continued for at least three more weeks in the kind of weather conditions that are ideal for horses and acceptable for humans. There will be no more racing in the Czech Republic until the season-opening meeting at Prague Velka Chuchle on Sunday April 4th.
At the beginning of the 2009 season, it was reasonable to fear that the perennial lack of funds in Czech racing could combine with an economic downturn to have a severe impact on horse racing. This has not happened, not yet. The number of races run, and the number of meetings held, were, I think, slightly more than in recent seasons. I apologise for not doing the calculations personally, like a real journalist. I hope that an article on the statistics of the season, probably prepared by Petr Malik, will be published, and I will be able to report the main results to you. Czech racing has survived above all thanks to racehorse owners, who share a very big part of the financial burden of the sport, and thanks to trainers and their staff, who work long and hard for little financial reward. Sponsors, advertisers, racecourses and racing administrators have all made significant contributions, too.
I have again been impressed this year by the labours of love that are done for the sport. The racing days at Albertovec in July and a couple of weeks later at Mimon showed that the local organizers really care and are able to bring together large teams of enthusiastic volunteers. The meeting at the end of October at Slusovice, which I only saw on television, was also clearly a wonderful celebration of the efforts mainly of local people to revive the racecourse. At grassroots level, Czech racing is impressive.
Before I proceed to announce my personality of the 2009 season in Czech racing, I would like to recognize some of the people who publicise the sport. They tend to feel unappreciated. It is perhaps true that the Czech racing authorities expect the press to report tamely and favourably on them, and respond rather sharply when they are shown in a less than heroic light. It can do no harm to mention the good efforts of writers and speakers who have come to my notice. By the way, I do not include myself among the unappreciated. My readership may not be numerous, but I cannot complain that you take me for granted - thank you for your kind words and thoughts.
At Prague Velka Chuchle, Tomas Hora runs the Jockey Club website, which is a mine of accurate information http://www.dostihyjc.cz/. I know that several non-Czech speakers are able to mine the vast amount of well-presented information on this site. Jiri Zlamany, based at Velka Chuchle, continues to commentate, announce and write tirelessly. Czech Television’s coverage of racing is of very good quality. Some readers of this newsletter watch Czech racing coverage live on your computers, or download it later. Unfortunately, Velka Pardubicka coverage was not available this year, except, with a few hours delay, on YouTube. Martin Cap is nowadays a key part of CT coverage of horse racing, an announcer and race reader at various courses, in my opinion the most interesting writer on Czech racing, and has even appeared as auctioneer at the horse sales in 2008 and 2009 on the Friday before Velka Pardubicka day. It is, I know, a mistake to praise or criticize one’s own boss in public, but Petr Guth, editor of the Paddock Revue website and the Paddock Revue printed magazine, really does deserve a “last but not least”. The Czech language website is nowadays updated several times a day during the season. The printed magazine is all in Czech, but with fine full-colour photography. For any information regarding subscriptions to anywhere outside the Czech Republic, please contact Petr Guth on redakce@paddock-revue.cz.
In a normal year, some of the good efforts mentioned above would be enough to gain a place in the Top Three contenders for racing personality of the year. However, in 2009, there were three quite outstanding performers. Age of Jape won the Czech triple crown and also the Slovak Derby and St Leger. On the basis that he has not yet gone to Germany or France to take on better horses, he only gets third place in this outstanding season. Josef Vana’s ride in the 2009 Velka Pardubicka, sponsored by Ceska Pojistovna, was a very remarkable achievement at the age of 56. He is surely personality of the decade, but in 2009 he gains only second place. The winner is Vaclav Janacek, who smashed the record number of winners ridden by a flat jockey in the Czech Republic. The previous record of 48, which Janacek shared with Vlastimil Smolik, was replaced by a new total of 82 winners, 59 more than second-placed Jiri Chaloupka. I know there are still some who say he is only the best of a poor lot, a whip flailer, and he very often gets to ride the best horse. He is still young, and can still improve, but Vaclav Janacek’s season-long commitment to winning and winning again was quite exceptional, maybe obsessional, and he is my Czech racing personality of the year.