ST. THOMAS — Horsemen trotted toward the rebirth of racing at the Clinton E. Phipps Racetrack following a seven-year hiatus on the track as owners, trainers, and exercise riders gathered before sunrise today to begin working out horses in preparation for the re-Birth Carnival Races set for 1 p.m. Friday, May 3.
“We want to get them fit for the distance they will be going,” Wilfredo Carmona, an exercise rider from St. Croix, said after running various horses on the track.
The early-morning schedule not only provided horsemen the hours needed to train horses before they had to report to work, but it was also an opportune time for the horses to exercise before the heat of the day. It was all in preparation for the return of horse racing.
“We’re excited to have races back, and all the fans are excited to come back to the horse track,” Ira Callwood, a St. Thomas trainer, said from the track. “There’s no carnival without horse racing.”
The stables were alive with activity at the Phipps racetrack as trainers cleaned stalls and groomed horses while preparing them to be ridden by an exercise rider.
“We’ve got to get the horses ready and prepared to run,” Callwood said. “It’s very important to train your horse in the morning so he gets the right exercise.”
Trainers bathed horses with hoses, walked horses on the sandy surface around the perimeter of the stables, and had exercise riders — Carmona and Warren “Jacko” Knight — run horses on the track.
“It’s an effort,” Calvert Charleswell, a St. Thomas resident with 35 years of experience in the horse racing industry as an owner, trainer, and groomer, said about the business. “It’s a love.”
After not being able to race since the track closed seven years ago, Charleswell is preparing to enter 10 horses in the re-Birth Carnival Races, which will feature six separate races.
“It’s a very good thing,” he said about the return of racing, noting he trains his horses along with his adult son, Laquan Charleswell. “We needed it back.”
Sports, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Calvert White, an ex-officio member of the Horse Racing Commission in his capacity as DSPR commissioner, discussed the return of racing in the territory while announcing the re-Birth Carnival Races during a Government House press conference last Monday.
“In October of 1978, the soon-to-be-constructed Estate Nadir racetrack was named after the accomplished equestrian and distinguished Virgin Islands jockey Clinton Phipps Sr.,” he said. “The absence of the Clinton Phipps Racetrack has been deeply felt for seven years, but today we stand on the brink of a new chapter as we prepare to welcome the excitement of racing back into our territory.”
White said the races will include the prestigious Ashby Classic, a tribute to native horses from St. Croix, and the ever-exciting Governor’s Cup, noting a total purse of $115,000 will mark the biggest race day in Virgin Islands history on St. Thomas.
“It was very important to us to involve St. Croix in these races, again it’s one Virgin Islands, and that’s why we’re having the native race,” White said. “I know for a fact there’s already three native horses from St. Croix already on St. Thomas getting ready to prepare for those races.”
White said by phone that native horses from St. Croix were specifically included in the upcoming races.
“We know that their horse track was not up and running, so it would have been a little difficult for them to have thoroughbred races because they don’t have a track to train,” he said. “However, we do know that they have a large influx of native horses that they train on a regular basis, so we wanted to make sure that we have a native race so that we could involve St. Croix to be part of these festivities.”
Mauricio Coto, a trainer from St. Croix, worked with two horses from The Big Island while at the Phipps racetrack this morning. Lucky Emblem is a two-year old Crucian horse that will compete in the native race.
“I think he’ll be one of the favorites to win,” he said. “He’s been here a whole year training.”
Coto can’t train horses on St. Croix because the Randall “Doc” James Racetrack has remained closed for about eight years. As VIGL Operations develops the St. Croix track into a state-of-the-art facility and casino, the company is awaiting approval of a gaming license from the Casino Control Commission to begin construction of a racino first.
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Without any horse-related activity on the St. Croix track, Coto said he had to bring Lucky Emblem to St. Thomas as a young colt for training. He said the process includes teaching the horse how to come out of the starting gates in addition to running on the surface of the track. Coto, who is also the trainer for a St. Croix horse named Najrah’s Dinner, was excited for the upcoming race day.
“It makes me feel proud because horse racing is looking to get back alive in the Virgin Islands,” Coto said, adding that he has been passionate about horses since he was a child. “It’s a sport that needs a lot of love, patience, time, and sacrifice.”
Horse racing is returning to St. Thomas for the re-Birth Carnival Races as Southland Gaming Virgin Islands continues its effort to develop the racetrack facility, where the company will operate video lottery terminals. In addition to putting finishes touches on the grandstands, ongoing work at the Phipps racetrack includes construction of support structures. White acknowledged SGVI’s commitment to the Virgin Islands during the Government House press conference.
“They have been a stalwart in our community,” he said. “They have showed their commitment to getting this track done, up and running for carnival, and they continue to assist in the preparation of carnival race day.”
The government will ultimately issue a request for proposals to find a track promoter for the Phipps racetrack.
“Once the track is completed, it is turned back over to the government of the Virgin Islands,” White said. “It is our intention that once the track is completed, hopefully before that time, we will have an RFP out to the public for anyone who is interested in being the promoter of that facility, so the promoter will include running that gaming center, so they would be in charge of the horse track, the horse races and also the gaming center at the facility.”
In the meantime, White said Westline Productions is involved with the re-Birth Carnival Races, including assisting with parking and traffic flow.
“They’re helping with the logistics of that,” he said.
With race day quickly approaching in about five weeks, horsemen took advantage of the opportunity to train horses early this morning.
Bernard Jude, of St. Thomas, was training two horses — Gigi Conquest and Dixie Land Union. He said he typically works with the horses from 4:30 to 8:30 a.m. daily, noting he runs them on the track some days, and takes them to the beach to swim other days.
“We try to blend it together to get them in condition,” he said.
Regardless of where he trains the horses, he does it for the same reason.
“It’s just such a joy in my life,” he said.
Eduardo Carmona, an assistant trainer, worked out a Kentucky-bred horse from Puerto Rico named Protector. He said the horse’s owner, Diego Lima, purchased the horse to compete in the Governor’s Cup.
“It’s the No. 1 race of the year,” he said, estimating between 5,000 to 6,000 spectators will attend. “Everybody looks forward to this grand race with big purses.”
Raphael Brathwaite, a lifelong horse owner and trainer better known as “Maldaw,” will run his horse, “Zaga,” in the coveted Governor’s Cup, the top race during the re-Birth Carnival Races. He is looking forward to the island’s first series of horse races in seven years.
“I’m just excited the people are gonna enjoy a race in the Virgin Islands,” he said.
