Slevin out of VI Triple Crown...again!
Slevin’s owner James Bates had initially said he was not entering his horse in the final leg since it needed to be rested but then entered the “Big Demon” in the race before scratching it from the list last week.
This information was confirmed by Race Secretary of the St. Thomas Horse Racing Association Kareem Thompson, who said Bates stated his horse was “sore” and needed to be rested. Bates could not be reached for comment.
This new development follows closely on the heels of a protest by Bates over Bud White’s participation in the second leg of the Johnny Walk Black VI Triple Crown Challenge, reportedly being rejected by the St. Croix Horseracing Commission.
The hearing was reportedly held on March 7, 2012 in St. Croix and according to a reliable source, the complaint was turned down by the Commission. “Well they denied the protest from Slevin’s owner James Bates,” the source told Virgin Islands News Online.
Bates had lodged a protest against Bud White’s entry shortly after the race in which his horse came in second to Bud White at the Randall “Doc” James racetrack, St. Croix, USVI on February 19, 2012. He had previously told this news agency that he was not entering Slevin in the third and final leg of the Triple Crown. “He’s a horse, not a machine. He was to rest before the Triple Crown,” Bates explained, when asked the reason behind his decision.
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.
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.
President of the VI Horse Owners’ Association Lesmore Smith had said it was not a case that there were any fears about the horse entering that the Association objected but that at this 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.
Meanwhile, Berberis will be the replacement for Slevin in the final leg. The other horses entered for the feature race are East End Tap and Good Prospecting of Tortola, Political Reporter of St. Croix, and Bud White, Diablo’s Fire and Voice of Faith of St. Thomas. There are, however, only six starting gates in St. Thomas, which means that Voice of Faith, which did not start in any of the two previous races of the Triple Crown, will likely have to make way for Bud White.
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