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Race Horse Lake Texoma is dead!

- Put down following broken leg during training at Ellis Thomas Downs today
Lake Texoma (leading) is no more, the Virgin Islands race horse was put to sleep earlier this morning July 28, 2012 after breaking one of his legs at Ellis Thomas Downs while training. Photo: VINO/File
Lake Texoma broke his left front leg while training on the Ellis Thomas Downs, according to Mrs. Hodge he was at the time going around the final corner here for the finish line when his leg went into a hole on the track. Photo: VINO
Lake Texoma broke his left front leg while training on the Ellis Thomas Downs, according to Mrs. Hodge he was at the time going around the final corner here for the finish line when his leg went into a hole on the track. Photo: VINO
SEA COWS BAY, Tortola, VI – The Virgin Islands (VI) horseracing community has been put into a state of shock this morning July 28, 2012 to learn that racing horse Lake Texoma had to be put to sleep.

The horse, which belonged to the L & B Stables, suffered a broken left front leg while training at Ellis Thomas Downs Race Track earlier this morning, and about an hour ago was put down and buried in Sea Cows Bay, Tortola, in close proximity to the track.

Lake Texoma was the lone Tortola horse slated to take part in the Ellis Thomas Memorial Race and final race on the August 7, 2012 race card.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Virgin Islands News Online this morning from the track, owner Letty Hodge was in a state of shock and described the tragedy as devastating for her.

“As a horse lover I can scream at the top of my lungs, but I have to be strong because I have other horses and don’t want the sport to go down,” Mrs. Hodge said.

According to Mrs. Hodge, Lake Texoma had suffered from some illnesses more than a year ago but hasn't had a problem for over a year and is a major loss for her.

“Lake Texoma is a major loss, we never had a problem over the past year, he finally got better, and he was flying this morning and for him to go down like that to me was devastating.”

Meanwhile, efforts were made to solicit comments from President of the Virgin Islands Horseowners’ Association Lesmore Smith but were futile up to publication time.

16 Responses to “ Race Horse Lake Texoma is dead!”

  • street man (28/07/2012, 11:20) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    oh no cannot beleive
    • Buddy ??? (28/07/2012, 13:33) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      This horse .....at this time,....... breaking a foot due to hole on track ? Well, who is responsible for maintaining this track? Is anybody going to want to lose another horse there? There is not even time to get a replacement before the key August 7 races.....and being the only BVI horse carded in the Memorial Race makes this even more unbearable. What a tragedy !!! This horse held a lot of promise. Hope it was well insured. Did he have an experienced jockey riding him, as sudden and sharp turns under racing conditions can cause such injuries. Really sorry to hear about this loss to L & B Stables.
  • critic (28/07/2012, 11:46) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    thats because them had an amateur grading the track yesterday....why them didn't bring back the whiteboy to grade the track? fraser done that recently before his government lost power
  • Johhny (28/07/2012, 12:10) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Why am I not surprised?
  • horse fan (28/07/2012, 13:09) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Lord I feel so bad for the poor animal
  • critic (28/07/2012, 16:27) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    them should've bring back in the pro to grade the track
  • ausar (28/07/2012, 19:16) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Some of aryo Virgin Islanders(British) believe aryo know everything. If aryo aint no expert on tracks, bring in those experts who are educated in this field to do the work. Just speaks to everything else in this country that's broken down-roads, sewerage, signage issues and plenty others too numerous to mention. And to imagine, every year the government giving out scholarships and not one of those officials ever saw the need for our people to learn about this industry! The need for aryo to fix everything while very knowing very little is why we will continue to see more of these types of mishaps in this and other basic infrastructure all around these islands.
  • instant payday loans (28/07/2012, 19:58) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
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  • Sad (29/07/2012, 03:24) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    My heart is sadden this morning when o learned about this . This is truly a great loss I am hurt , I can understand how Letty and the camp feels. This is so sad the horse had potential . Nothing like him I have ever seen sprint the way he did. Stay strong Letty , thank you guys for horse racing and all the best.
  • george (29/07/2012, 08:38) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    And so close to the august tuesday races jah!
  • ... (29/07/2012, 09:37) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Vino, I knew that article you all wrote about him being "The horse of the future" was a bad sign. Man this is SO DISAPPOINTING. He was not even mine but I feel the loss. Condolences L&B.
  • court house (29/07/2012, 09:55) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Letty need to sue the government for her horse as they promised to maintian the track!!!!
  • talk girl talk (29/07/2012, 12:31) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    i heard that the horse was suffering for at least 3 hours before he was put down because the government vet said he had no medication...how sad
  • high hope zoro return (29/07/2012, 22:56) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    the first mistake the NDP made was to place the track under Myron. All he does is talk talk talk and do a million site visits with NDP Lesmome and Roy B and at the end of the day he aint made any different...he don't care who horse gets kill or how the horse owners feed their horses..as long as he can bluff and pretend like he is doing something.


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