Caribbean racing

Racing last year for the first time since a pair of 2017 hurricanes decimated St. Thomas's Clinton E. Phipps Racetrack in the U.S. Virgin Islands, at least six Thoroughbreds were euthanized over the course of three carded days at the track. Another horse suffered a breakdown during a workout, bringing the total to seven. Those are just some of several major issues plaguing the St. Thomas/St. John Horse Racing Commission (STT/STJ HRC), who is charged with the responsibility of regulating racing on the island. Compounding horses dying on the track,...

There has not been any racing in Antigua since June, 2019, and when it does return it will be contested at a bare-bones track that is too small, too narrow and doesn't drain properly. There's no certainty that racing in Antigua can survive, which is why a local horseman named Hansen Richards is behind an ambitious plan to build a new track on the Caribbean island. "After all the work I have done, I cannot sit back and do nothing," the trainer said. "I want to put horse racing in...