Whilst this website is primarily interested in the Velka Pardubicka and racing at Pardubice the Czech Republic has a lot to offer the racing enthusiast. There are fifteen racecourses with fourteen offering some form of jumping on their programmes :-

Velka Chucle - Prague`s racecourse is the headquarters of Czech flat racing staging four of the five Czech classics and many other top class races. They race on Sundays from April to November with a summer break from the end of June until the end of August. The Czech Derby is run at the end of June. In 2004 steeplechasing returned having been abolished in the mid eighties with two races run in the autumn over portable fences. The steeplechase fences it has to be said were little more than hurdles and therefore only hurdle races are now run here. The races are run on a turf course inside the main flat course which when not used for racing is used for training purposes. Most of the Autumn fixtures will see a race over timber.

Karlovy Vary - The attractive Spa town of Karlovy Vary near the German border is the Czech equivalent of Royal Ascot where the rich, famous and beautiful take in the waters and enjoy some top quality racing. The big meeting at Karlovy Vary is held in conjunction with a major film festival. Unfortunately the steeplechase course was dug up in 2003 to make room for a golf course but jumping was reintroduced in 2005 with steeplechases run on the flat course over fences that are attached to the outer rail and folded away after use. Usually one steeplechase is run at each meeting.

Most - A triumph of Czech engineering and construction Most racecourse was built on a former open cast mine. Opened in 1997 Most stages the Czech Oaks and the Velka Mostecka which is the most prestigious steeplechase held way from Pardubice. This race is run on the Oaks card in July.

Lysa nad Laben - Lysa used to open the cross country season with the First of May Steeplechase (Prmajaova Steeplechase) being run funnily enough at he beginning of May. This race provides Czech racegoers with the first glimpse of the top cross country stars. All meetings at Lysa are mixed affairs and are staged throughout the season. I am told that the fences at Lysa are pretty unchallenging and horses can take liberties that they would not get away with elsewhere.

Slusovice - The only racecourse in the eastern province of Moravia, Slusovice was an important training centre and the racecourse was opened during the Communist era. Cards of thirteen races or more were a common occurance. Sadly this once prominent racecourse has been through some hard times in recent years due in part to land restitution claims dating back to the state of the land before the Second World War. The course survives and I am pleased to see that they now stage a valuable steeplechase in late October.

Benesov - The steeplechase races at its two mixed meeting are usually very well subsrcibed and the Velka Benesovska is the courses major race.

Brno - Stages two days racing a year. the racecourse appears to be very near the citys airport.

Kolesa - Races three times a year. Their major steeplechase has the horses running through a small lake.

Of the other racecourses Netolice holds a version of the Velka on its one days racing in June.  Mimon which reappeared in 2004 after an abence of eight years stages two mixed cards a year where even the slowest Czech horse has a chance of glory. 2006 saw the return of Albertovec racecourse which had been disused since1989 ! Here the horses run down what looks like a small quarry in the valuable Albertovec Chase. 

Svetla Hora, Radislavice and Tochovice are all racecourses situated within training centres operated by Cestmir Olehla, Pavil Slozil and Vaclav Chaloupka respectively . All offer one days racing a year. Svetla Hora stages jumping in July, Radislavice which opened in 2003 races in April (it was not used in 2008) to open the Czech jumps season whilst Tochovice stages a days flat racing in the autumn.