Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Virgin Islands Source or its editorial staff. 

Once again the Virgin Islands horseracing is in the spotlight. After attending the hearing last week before Judge Douglas Brady in the case of Arturo Watlington Jr. v. Hugo Hodge Jr., Laura Palminteri and Sheldon Turnbull, as members of the St. Thomas and St. John Horseracing Commission and their Racing Secretary Kareen Thomson, some troubling facts were brought to light.

Dr. Palminteri testified during the court hearing before Judge Douglas Brady on Thursday Aug. 28, 2025 under oath that she has been hired by the St. Thomas-St. John Horseracing Commission to conduct pre and post-race inspections of racehorses that participate at the Clinton E. Phipps racetrack, while having full knowledge that her and the racing commission’s actions are a conflict of interest in violation of Title 3 VIC Chp. 37 sub-section 1100-1108. Other members of the St. Thomas-St. John Horseracing Commission may have conflicts as well, giving the appearance of worst case scenario fraud and corruption and in the best case scenario conflict of interest – either way, the optics aren’t good.

Six years ago while I was serving as Chairman of the V.I. Horseracing Commission, I notified the V.I. attorney general about clear instances of conflict of interest by two sitting St. Thomas commission members, though no action was taken then and I am quite sure that in spite of the self-admitted conflict of interest, no action will be taken now.

Prior to horseracing resuming at the Clinton E. Phipps racetrack in April of this year there were very important questions that the St. Thomas-St. John Horseracing Commission to date has fail to answer even though they were claiming transparency:

On the preliminary findings
Who conducted the assessment of the track and are they qualified and reputable?
Where is the report?
How was a determination made on the cause of the injuries?
What were the injuries?
Was a necropsy done on any of the horses to include horses that died on non-race days?
How was it determined that Horse Condition caused the injuries / fatalities?
What specifically is meant by “Horse Condition”? Pre-existing injuries, disease, malnutrition, not fit for racing, a combination of some or all of these factors?
Why was there conspicuously missing was any mention of doping? Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED’s), Medications, Steroids, and other substances that negatively impact horse condition? Is this because doping is normalized in the Virgin Islands and the effects are obvious?
Why is Dr. Laura Palminteri conducting “Fit to Race Examinations”? Is she an Equine Veterinarian qualified to conduct “Fit to Race Examinations”? How can a member of the racing commission be directly involved in providing any services for the horsemen or the promoter when they are charged with regulating horseracing? Which is clearly a Conflict of Interest.
Do other members of the St. Thomas-St. John Horseracing Commission have any interest in the horses or are providing goods or services in any shape or form while regulating horseracing.

When Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. approved Bill 35-0190, Amendment 35-292 repealing the Anti-Doping Law Act 8722 Section 6, he is quoted in his transmittal letter to then Senate President Novelle E. Francis Jr. dated April 25, 2023, “Although I have approved section 6 of the Bill, the section suspending the provisions of Title 32 V.I.C Chp. 11 Subchp II, relating to Horseracing Anti-Doping, I must remind the public that while the law is being suspended here, the Horseracing Commission of the VI has made it clear that they will not sanction any races that do not conform to Anti-Doping rules for horseracing”.

Since that time several races have been conducted at the Clinton E. Phipps racetrack and multiple horses had to be euthanized due to injuries. Therefore, the question that should be asked is what changed to allow horseracing at the Clinton E. Phipps racetrack without anti-doping or industry rules and regulations. Evidently the governor was not as sure about his racing commission as he thought he was. Clearly, the commission did not share his sentiments, and as they try to distance themselves from this debacle of multiple breakdowns and fatalities over the last 15 months, the facts clearly show they are complicit in causing them.

Suspending the Anti-Doping provision of the law did not suspend the Racing Commission’s regulatory authority. The St. Thomas-St. John Horseracing Commission’s acquiescence to the horsemen to allow them to race unsound racehorses without Anti-Doping is due to inept and feckless leadership of the St. Thomas-St. John Horseracing Commission and it’s members. Contrary to any statements made, it is my opinion that doping is a primary cause of the injuries and breakdowns. This is largely due to the self-admitted practice of doping injured horses to race them in the Virgin Islands. When injured horses are drugged the injury progresses to catastrophic injuries, breakdowns, and fatalities.

Attorney Watlington stated in court that there were no rules governing horseracing in the territory and that the public interest is of no consequence because we have no pari-mutuel wagering during horse races on St. Thomas. Attorney Watlington also stated, “The only thing we have here is illegal gambling.”

Those statements were factually correct but extremely disturbing. Ask yourself: what reputable promoter would want to get involved and invest any money with self-admitted illegal gambling and horseracing with no rules in the US Virgin Islands? Although I don’t support, he was correct in his assertion and I agree that is the case. However, that is also the source of the problem.

Dr. Palminteri testified that on more than one occasion she cleared the horse in question (Guillaume) to race “against my better judgement”. This indicates that horses are allowed to race base on how Dr. Palminteri feels about it at any given time and not by any established rules or regulations. This is what happens when the horsemen and elected officials support deregulation and resist structure and discipline in horseracing. With that said, Dr, Palminteri’s decision has merit when taken into consideration the following: the age of the horse; number of races ran; the fused ankles (according to Dr, Palminteri); and the prescribed treatment of injecting his ankles with various medications. All of these can be considered to be leading indicators that predict a very high potential for catastrophic injuries or death to the horse and rider.

It was also gratifying to hear testimony from Dr. Palminteri that she was driven by her conscience to finally take preemptive action in the interest of the health and welfare of a horse being raced in the territory.

This case clearly indicates the critical need for horseracing governed by established rules and regulations. Industry best practices should be the benchmark and not the easiest practices. What most of the well-established racing districts throughout the United States and Canada follow are the ARCI model Rules. The territory should seriously consider adopting those rules to insure that we have sustain horseracing in the territory and attract legitimate racing promoters.

The horses on St. Thomas USVI are being raced under cruel conditions while they are being injured and dying. The message from the St. Thomas-St. John Horseracing Commission is that they intend to continue this cruelty. It is also my opinion based on statements made that unregulated medicating and doping and track surface are the two primary causes of these injuries closely followed by poor nutrition and training practices.

The fact of the matter is that doping is a crutch used by what passes for trainers in the Virgin Islands: untrained, unschooled, incompetent, and inept. They simply can’t train racehorses. Sound horses trained by competent people do not need to be doped. Substandard horses trained by incompetent grooms pretending to train racehorses and impersonating legitimate trainers NEED doping and they have said as much to the Virgin Islands legislature.

The position taken by the St. Thomas-St. John Horseracing Commission in January that “horse condition” is the cause of the injuries and fatalities only further erodes any confidence in their ability to effectively regulate horse racing and insure the safety of the horses and riders because by Dr. Palminteri’s own testimony, she was approving unsound horses to race against her better judgement. The Horseracing Commission is fully aware that unsound horses are being medicated and doped to run in the races on St. Thomas. The horsemen have testified to this before the V.I. Legislature. This is a matter of record, yet there have been no corrective actions taken or recommended to address what is clearly a primary cause of these incidents. How does the St. Thomas-St. John Horseracing Commission reconcile allowing unregulated medicating and doping of racehorses while ensuring horse safety? That is impossible as both are mutually exclusive.  You can’t have both, it’s one or the other.

This is obviously unsustainable. This is intuitive. This is common sense. So, clearly there is no common sense being employed by the St.  Thomas-St. John Horseracing Commission, who think they are promoting horseracing, but in reality are killing the sport.

While this is unpleasant to hear and to say, it is accurate and exactly how we are perceived in the larger horse racing industry. The current leadership of the St Thomas-St. John Horseracing Commission enables and supports discord and chaos of horseracing in the territory by refusing to provide the leadership required to meet the changing realities of horseracing.

Hugo Hodge, as the chairman of the racing commission, is the head of the mob that refers to themselves as the horsemen. The difference between a mob and an organization can be summarized by three attributes: discipline, order, and structure. Leadership can be defined by courage, vision, and integrity. Until these conditions are met, the future of horseracing in the territory will not survive pass the next five to seen years. For our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico, horseracing has been under tremendous scrutiny for some time now and is coming to grips with this reality. I am also quite sure that they will make the necessary adjustments. I suggest we do the same here then all we can hope for is it’s not “too little, too late”.

—Jay Watson is a St. Croix resident with nearly three decades of law enforcement experience; he is also a former V.I. Horse Racing Commission chair and vocal proponent of improving the sport within the territory.
Editor’s Note: Opinion articles do not represent the views of the Virgin Islands Source newsroom and are the sole expressed opinion of the writer. Submissions can be made to visource@gmail.com.