‘Push horse racing or get pushed out’- Lesmore Smith to Hon Rymer
There has not been any horse racing in the VI since August 2022, following a dispute over an agreement over the use of a portion of the land at Ellis Thomas Downs belonging to the Thomas family.
According to Smith, the owner of Ghostingoyu, which took a thrilling victory in the Governor’s Cup at the St Thomas Carnival Races on May 3, 2024, Hon Rymer should know the importance of the sport to seniors since he comes from a background of horse owners, including his grandfather the late William I. Rhymer and mother-in-law Patsy C. Lake.
Speaking on Talking Points on ZBVI 780 AM on May 13, 2024, Mr Smith said he was welcomed back to the territory at West End following his win of the Governor’s Cup by Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley, Hon Rymer and Junior Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Dr the Hon Karl Dawson (R1).
‘If you don’t push....’
Mr Smith said he used that opportunity to say “openly” to Hon Rymer, “If you don’t push [horse racing] then we will push you out, in layman's terms.”
The champion horse owner, who has had champion horses such as Good Prospecting and Giant Valley, said he made that comment because Hon Rymer’s grandfather was a pioneer of horse racing, and he should know the passion the seniors have for horse racing. He also said Ms Lake owned some of the fastest horses.
“So we have to go back to reality...so for him to sit there with his head in the sand like an ostrich, I am not going to accept that.”
Gov’t missing out on potential revenues- Lesmore Smith
Mr Smith said the other thing is, with the gaming industry, it can bring in revenue for the schools, health care services, and road infrastructure. “Every dollar that is spent, the government automatically gets 2 cents out of that.”
Pointing out that in places like Dubai the sport is lucrative as the prize money is sometimes 13 million dollars; however, it can get better for local horse owners if parimutuel wagering comes into play.
“At the end of the day, for us in this part of the world, BVI, USVI, it’s a hobby, because we have not yet reached to the point where it’s paying us, so we could pay the groom, and pay the jockeys. We still have to get the money out of your pocket to do those stuff.
“But when we get the parimutuel [wagering] and all those things, and simultaneous casting, now we will begin to make money, so we can put more into it. And the government gets a huge bonus out of that.”
Gaming act passed but no Gaming Commission established
The Virgin Islands Gaming and Betting Control Act 2020 was officially published in the government’s Gazette and became law on July 9, 2021. The act was supposed to pave the way for, among other things, parimutuel wagering to be legalised; however, a delay in the establishment of a Gaming and Betting Control Commission has caused parimutuel wagering to not yet become a reality in the VI.
Premier Wheatley told a local media entity back in September 2022, that his government will be taking its time with the forming of the Virgin Islands Gaming and Betting Control Commission.
“The Commission hasn’t been formed as yet. It is something that we are taking a look at. We haven’t decided to move too quickly. It is something we want to take a good look at before we move forward with it,” Premier Wheatley had stated.
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31 Responses to “‘Push horse racing or get pushed out’- Lesmore Smith to Hon Rymer”
The Government should pull out of the negotiations and let them discover that nobody else is interested in renting it.
We need to stop subsidising the horse owners. If they want to be to own and race horses, then let them pay for it themselves. It is not something that the Government should be paying for.
Umm ...did you mean "Fund itself"? Do you guys know the world sees your bad spelling and grammar when you post sh** like this?
road town flooded out not too long ago. Some of yall engine probably hydrolocked in that water and you have to foot the bill for the government could have fixed ages ago. Yall priorities messed up.
if this was the states there would be an angry mob every terrorizing the officials. No wonder them could get away with anythin. not even the COI open yall eyes of clear mispending and abuse!
those of us who have more pressing matters with our hard earned tax money would like to focus on getting the roads fixed, better infrastructure, price control on supermarkets, advanced technology in government services, investment in solar energy for when another hurricane mash up the electricity poles againnn minimum wage raised etcccc plenty better things to use tax for.
lesmore will beat Kye in a Horse Race for sure
run talk that
WIN A LIL RACE DOWN ROCK
, AND WAH PLAY AH HERO OVERNIGHT , AND WHAT I FIND , EVEN MORE AMUSING , IS THAT IT LOOKS LIKE YOU REALLY BELIEVE IT TOO ???? ~ HAE HAE HAe hae hae
1. Schools
2. Roads
3. Sewerage and drainage
4. Border security
5. Water Supply
6. The hospital
7. Agriculture
8. Fishing
9. The incinerator
10. An island wide clean up including removing abandoned cars and boats