Horse racing returns to Phipps track next month

ST. CROIX — The thunder of hoofbeats will return to the Clinton E. Phipps Racetrack on Nov. 3, members of the St. Thomas-St. John Horse Racing Commission heard on Friday afternoon. According to Southland Gaming’s Shaine Gaspard, another race day is planned for December.

David Edmonds, Southland Gaming’s developer representative, reported during Friday’s meeting that the developer is “essentially 80% complete” with their work on the St. Thomas racetrack. “Which is well under our expected timeframe,” he said. Half of the project was required to be completed within two years, Edmonds said, but the developer expects to have the entire project completed by then.

During Friday’s meeting, Sports, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Calvert White Jr. stated that the rules and regulations for horse racing in the territory had been published to the DSPR website. “We are just waiting for Department of Justice [sic] to approve those rules,” White said. “But the horsemen, the public, everybody can go and see what the new rules and regulations for the horse racing industry in the Virgin Islands will be.”