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Snubbed? No St. Thomas horses for Boxing Day races

- Feature race rivalry between Good Prospecting and East End Tap
No horses from St. Thomas will be blazing out of the gates at Ellis Thomas Downs today
East End Tap is expected to take the competition to race favourite Good Prospecting in the feature race today.
East End Tap is expected to take the competition to race favourite Good Prospecting in the feature race today.
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – Reliable sources have confirmed to Virgin Islands News Online that today’s Boxing Day races at Ellis Thomas Downs will be an all Tortola affair as there will be no horses from St. Thomas.

It is not clear why all of the horses from the neighbouring Territory have been pulled out. No one from the Virgin Islands Horse Owners’ Association could be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, St Thomas’ horse Sweet Sight may be missing from the rivalry in the feature race today but Good Prospecting and East End Tap go head to head with a place in next year’s Triple Crown at stake.

Just two points separate the pair in the current Power Rankings, which decide the final allotment of places in the Triple Crown which is slated to start on January 15, 2012.

Each of the three tracks involved, St Thomas, St Croix and Tortola are responsible for their own point system. Points are awarded for winning, placing, showing and also bonus points for travelling to “away” tracks.

Class A Restricted Races award 6 points for a win with an additional 2 bonus points for travel. Placing comes with 4 points and a bonus of 1 for travel and 2 points are awarded for showing.

Open Unrestricted Races in Class A & B, I-1 & I-2 have 5 points for a win, 3 points for a place and 1 point for appearance. Class B Restricted Races and Open Unrestricted Races in both Class B & C, I-2 & I-3 designate 3 points for a win, 1.5 points for a place, 2 points for a win and 1 point for a place respectively.

Additionally in order for Class B points to mature for eligibility for the Triple Crown, Class B Horses must have completed in a Class A Race and run in the money. Alternatively Class B horses must have competed in an Open/ Unrestricted Race with Class A horses and run in the money while finishing ahead of a Class A horse.

Currently Really Uptown has 25 points in the standings and is guaranteed a spot in the Triple Crown; Good Prospecting has 15 points, East End Tap 13 and Broken Home 12. Lake Texoma has 5 points.

Broken Home and Lake Texoma face off over 6 ½ furlongs and, of course, the feature race sees Good Prospecting and East End Tap battling it out in the decider.

The Triple Crown starts with the Ellis Thomas Downs Cup on January 15, 2012. The action then moves to St Croix for the Randall Doc James Cup over 1 1/16 mile on February 19th before culminating in St Thomas with the Clinton Phipps Classic over 1-1/8 mile on March 18.

Sponsorship for the Triple Crown comes from Bellows Brand in the USVI and from Roadtown Wholesale here in the VI. Each stage of the series comes with a minimum $10,000 purse and there is a $25,000 Bonus to the Horse that can win the Triple Crown outright (win all 3 races).

If it comes down to a point’s decision then there is a $10,000 bonus with 6 points for a win, 4 points for placing, 2 points for a show and 1 point for participating in each race.

Meanwhile, sponsors for today's races include CCT Global Communications, Virgin Islands News Online, Hon. Myron Walwyn and BVI Tourist Board.

Race time today is 1:30 p.m.

10 Responses to “Snubbed? No St. Thomas horses for Boxing Day races ”

  • Johnny (26/12/2011, 08:58) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Snubbed or just couldn't pass the fitness test? This is the exact reason why we need to speed up and make this a state of the art cricket venue
  • horse fan (26/12/2011, 09:03) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    but St. Thomas always dissing the BVI this is nothing new!
    • bvi commission (26/12/2011, 11:47) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      is simple economic reality- at least 4 of the horses are owned by same stables and they would have had to foot the entire b ill for the barge- Dont forget Voice of Faith owners also got upsedt last time out when despite being in tola they were late with entry fee and got barred from riding. all 3 associations just need to get together and work it out
  • qq (26/12/2011, 11:36) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    like anyone surprised..those rock city smart men
  • tell dem (26/12/2011, 14:16) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    dem say tis ah boycot cause tola aint pay dey badge bill and dem aint like Lesmore he to arogant
    • hey (26/12/2011, 18:12) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      TO Tell THem: Shut your mouth up! Tortola responsible for paying any barge? I can clearly see you know nothing about horseracing and only here to dirty lesmore' name. Why you people are going to stop this blogging foolishness. Come out and say what you want to people face and stop hiding behind the computers. I hope for 2012 these blogging will cease.
  • farmer brown (26/12/2011, 18:20) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    I heard on the track it was some silly badge issues...struppps
  • Lil Girl (29/12/2011, 20:22) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    The previous committee told the st. thomas horse owner not to come because there is not guarantee that they will get paid.


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