Jay Watson

The U.S. Virgin Islands's Department of Sports, Parks, & Recreation Department has formally closed the Clinton E. Phipps Racetrack on the island of St. Thomas until further notice after at least seven horses were euthanized last year, according to a press release from the agency on Friday. In an article on Thursday, Jan. 30, the TDN reported that breakdowns occurred starting in May, but the St. Thomas/St. John Horse Racing Commission (STT/STJ HRC) was regulating cards without anti-doping laws in effect nor had the surface undergone professional testing. Alongside these...

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,...