Horse racing associations to iron out Triple Crown kinks!
“We are hoping to have a meeting hopefully before St. Thomas Carnival Races which is scheduled for April 27. We are hoping to reach as associations, all three islands, to work out some of those kinks that were incurred during the Triple Crown,” said President of the Virgin Islands Horse Owners’ Association, Lesmore Smith.
Mr. Smith also said the controversies were soothed by each island winning a leg, which helped to “build a good spirit among us”.
One of the major controversies of the recent Triple Crown was the inclusion of Bud White in the second leg of the Triple Crown despite the horse did not have any points and did not run the first leg either.
One of the challengers to the decision was Mr. James Bates, who is the owner of Slevin of St. Croix. But Mr. Bates was not the only one that was against the inclusion of Bud White in the second leg as the VI Horse Owners’ Association and L&B Stables, were also against it.
Mr. Smith had said it was not a case that there were any fears about the horse entering that his Association objected but that at that stage ( 2nd leg), no new horse should have been allowed to enter. He said it was something that was discussed previously among the Associations but was not put in the guidelines for the Triple Crown.
President of the St. Thomas Horse Racing Association Mr. Winston Benjamin had said the issue surrounding Bud White was more about the misinterpretation of the rules rather than an error by the Triple Crown committee. He had noted there were six horses pencilled in to run in St. Croix but there was space for two other horses in the feature race and the other horses with points either declined to participate or could not run for whatever reason hence Bud White, which Virgin Islands News Online understands was brought in specifically to challenge Slevin, was allowed.
“We are working out proper documentation going forward among ourselves and this will be a standardised document like the MOU that will give us the Triple Crown procedures. The MOU says it will allow us to travel, this Triple Crown arrangement will only allow what is said to happen so nobody will be able to make no one decision and alter everything but it will be a standardised document that will help us whatever classes of horses there are...Someone is presently working on that document for me to give me a copy of it also and this is someone who is very instrumental in the horse racing business in the US Virgin Islands,” Mr. Smith said.
The final leg of the Triple Crown was won by East End Tap on Sunday, March 18, 2012 at the Clinton E. Phipps Race Track in St. Thomas, USVI.
St. Croix's Slevin won the first leg in Tortola; while St. Thomas' Bud White won the second leg on St. Croix.
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