ST. CROIX — Senator Avery Lewis has introduced a bill to reprogram $5 million in unused funds originally appropriated in 2022 for the Randall “Doc” James Racetrack on St. Croix.
“It’s high time that racing returns to St. Croix,” Lewis said. “We no longer could play with it, and we’re going to do that. That’s what my goal is — to return horse racing to St. Croix.”
The funds were appropriated to the Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation on September 29, 2022 from the Community Facilities Trust Fund as a grant to be disbursed to VIGL Operations upon completion of a portion of work on the racetrack. However, that work never materialized.
It has been half a year since the Virgin Islands government and VIGL Operations LLC reached an agreement to end their partnership that called for the company to develop a $20 million racetrack and casino in accordance with a 2016 franchise agreement.
As the government moves forward to develop the racetrack without VIGL Operations, Lewis is now calling for the $5 million to be reappropriated to DSPR. However, this time the department is responsible for the project.
“The money stayed in the Community [Facilities] Trust Fund,” he said. “So, all I’m doing now is just putting the money into the hands of the custodian — the [Department of] Sports, Parks and Recreation so they could start work on the track.”
Lewis said the funding will allow DSPR to begin work on the running surface and paddock area, though he acknowledged that more money will be needed to finish the entire facility.
“Eventually, we know we’d have to add more, but it’s a start,” he said.
Sports, Parks and Recreation Commissioner-designee Vincent Roberts confirmed the department would use the funds to repair the track’s surface, stables, and paddock.
“The running surface itself needs a lot of work, so that $5 million will help to restore that to get the horses back on the track running, as well as the stables too so they could keep the horses on the track,” he said.
Roberts said the goal is to begin holding races as soon as possible. He said the last step would be to install the grandstands. While there is no new franchise agreement in place, he said DSPR is prepared to manage construction once the funds are approved and will put the project out to bid.
“The $5 million will definitely get the project started immediately,” he said.
Roberts could not say how soon races would resume.
“I think the first step would be getting the $5 million and that would kind of dictate the timeline as far as the beginning of the project and it being completed,” he said.
The appropriation measure, Bill No. 36-0119, is scheduled to be heard in the Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance on September 30.
