Anomalies found in lease! Track owners seek 1500% rent increase
A discovery of ‘anomalies’ in the lease agreement signed between the Virgin Islands government and the Thomas family back in 2012 is the main reason behind the family’s reported refusal to allow the government to continue using portions of the land at Ellis Thomas Downs.
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley said the lease agreement is referred to as Ellis Holdings Limited. He noted the agreement was valid for 20 years with a regular five-year rent review during that period. The Minister for Finance said the government has been paying approximately $90,000 annually to the Thomas family for their portion of the property while the Forbes family was pocketing nearly $80,000 yearly for their portion.
“So, in combination, the government was spending about $170,000 for lease of the track. Now, the one lease with Ellis Holdings, there are provisions in there for five-year rent reviews. As I said, it was signed in 2012 so 2017 would have been the rent review. That rent review did not happen because of course we know what happened in 2017 with the storms,” Dr Wheatley said.
“So, we came up on another rent agreement in 2022. So, in negotiating on this rent review, there were some anomalies noted by the AG (Attorney General) Chambers. These anomalies were noticed by the AG Chambers and there was a discussion on these anomalies, and it caused a big problem. There were some anomalies with the agreement and based on those anomalies, there were discussions and of course some discontent on part of the Thomas’ based on what was being said in terms of these anomalies in the agreement,” the Premier added.
The Finance Minister explained that as a result of what was said about the anomalies, the Thomas family indicated the track could not be used.
Family seeking 15 times what is being paid now
However, he said negotiations are still active with the family at present.
“Certainly, the family has indicated that they want an increase in the rent. In fact, the increase, what was described to me in one instance would be about 15 times what we pay now. There are some questions on the sustainability of that. So, these are some of the challenges we have. The existing agreement would not allow for us to do parimutuel, things like that. That would make it more sustainable to have horse-racing in the territory,” the Premier said.
“The existing agreement made it difficult to have any kind of third parties, [and] made it difficult to have other events happen at the horse racing grounds, for instance, maybe a possibility of having cricket played there. All in all, we must have people negotiate in the best interest of the people of the Virgin Islands,” he added.
Dr Wheatley said he heard there have been threats of violence against members of the family and he condemns those threats.
“I would like to see everybody treated fairly. We want the government and the taxpayers treated fairly; the family treated fairly. Of course, it is a negotiation and unfortunately, we were not provided access to use the grounds even though of course we have already paid for the year. We paid $90,000 for the year. It is unfortunate but we are trying to manage the situation as best as we can in the best interest of everybody involved and certainly any threats of violence, we condemn that and let us get together as mature people and have some discussions about how we move forward in the best interest,” the Premier said.
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Just shameful. I think the Government should not use tax payers money to pay such lease, 15 times the current rental is too much. The Thomas Family should keep the land and the Government should get out of this business venture. This is not a public good. Let them take over horse racing, if it is truly in honour of their father.
Government had better not be paying these people to lease land to run horses 3 times a year when a one-time payment could be made to purchase land elsewhere for future use.
Spending a total of $1,700,000 to lease land for so many years is crazy!!!!
F**k horse race. Them raping the government. Thelat should have been rent to own for that long time. Government taking Ls for life
Why is the BVI paying over $170,000 (One HUNDRED AND SEVENY THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS) to allow all drug kingpins and associates to run their horses and FACILILATE ILLEGAL GAMBLING?
THIS PLANS IS PRETTY FKDED UPS!
Please look another location pure greed
Greedy people!!… Move it to Anegada for true.. 15 times!.. They must be seeing green or pissing green to want that much green… lol they best take the bush from the grounds instead as thats what will happen with that property…ridiculous!… and 90,000.00 a year?!…Need to be racing way more to sustain that.. Let them go to hell.
Isn’t greed one of the seven deadly sins?
If government the pay for the use for year. Why they playing god and killing the sport that just starting to catch back itself.
Again, the government needs to use Cox Heat, and it’s only in the BVI government dont take back land if they see the need for it.
Other places in the world, if the government needs your land they coming for it and offering you the value cost of the land or giving you land equal its value cost.
So the government should of had the right to do such. And they need to change the laws to just suit such.
Ain’t like they going to use the land to do something better.
A whole 15 times more they looking for.
If the government agrees to this they are truly stupid. Cause in the end you’re at a lost. Horse race does not generate that kind of money to say they going to agree to a 1500% increase.
TRULY PEOPEL ARE JUST GREEDY AND IF I KNEW ANY OF THEM I WOULD TELL THEM AYO TOOO F’in GREEDY
But,the one Thomas lady was on the other site saying it wasn’t about money. LOL LOL she must really think the public is stupid
Virgin Islanders are among the most greedy and thiefing people I’ve ever met. This notion of them being nice and welcoming is a lie. They only nice and welcoming when a deal benefits them. They ain’t genuine.
They are notorious for taking advantage of their employees. Discriminating against their own brother from another island. Engaging in drug running.Being white collar theives. Always depending on their government for survival (blood suckers). Stabbing you in the back.
While you all looking at contracts look at those contracts for buildings being rented by Government to and see if you find any “Anomalies”???
You should see what they pay to rent buildings. They could have built 3 more complexes by now with what they pay out…
Fear and greed are two of the three great forces in the world, according to Einstein (the third is stupidity).
In almost every case, the vainglorious needs of a few, leads to the detriment of many. We will never be able to advance this tiny nation since, regrettably, greed is the driving force behind everything.
This is probably a blessing in disguise because that is too much money to be paying for something we barely use anyway even before the x15 increase
Their dad musa rolling in his grave to see how his daughter who even dont live here disrespecting his name where is Fraser in this because of greed shameful
Why is the Govt renting the race course – let the horse owners rent it. The Govt should not be in the race horse business. The land owners have had it too good for too long – let them see if they can rent it to anybody else for anything like the rent paid by the Government. Enough wasting tax payers money.
Really!!!!!
The place IS in need of a second high school for years and gov. out there paying ppl that kind of money annually.
HOW often do we have horse race, twice?
All of them need investigating.
THIS IS SOME BULLSH**
Paying this kind of money yearly for a track barely used is ludicrous and a wastage of tax payers money esp when sewer in our streets, horrible roads and schools in disrepair!!!
WHERE THE 3RD DISTRICT REP STAND / OR WHOSE SIDE HE TOOK ( WE CAN ONLY WONDER WHAT HE WOULD OF SAID OR DONE ,IF HE WERE THE PREMIER / THEN AGAIN LOOK HOW MUCH HUNDRED OF THOUSANDS OF TAXPAYERS MONEY WENT INTO THOSE BARGES ( WHICH WAS JUST A STORAGE FOR DRUGS AFTER VTHE BIG SET OF ,* DRUG BURSTS * THATS THE TALK ON THE STREET ?
Our government should not be in the business of horse racing at all.
$170,000.00 a year of our tax money when our shools are falling apart and our roads are a total disgrace.
I dont know what.wrong with these people buy the land.down cox seth from.the smith.them or i under stand the ndp.goverment.borth.it to move the road.over there
This amount off increase they are looking is purprostrious its to much money some thing else more constructive can be done with money.
Yall dumb.. same government that robbing yall you wana side with.i agree with the thomas 15 times or keep it moving!!
That’s a good topic for the opposition to campaign on in the upcoming general elections that government is paying over 170 thousand dollars a year to lease land for horse race and the Territory’s roads and schools are falling apart.
Hon. I respect you more than ever to share this news with the public…….I hope you ignore these greedy people and use the money instead to rebuild Road Town primary school
Not even a 5% increase but a whole 1500% increase. Ted you ain’t easy. Look good but mind on a different level.
The Government need to not renew the contract(s) and get out of the horse racing business. Let the Thomas family rent it to a private entity or a NPO that maybe interested. If I hear the Government signs back an Agreement with the Thomas Family, they have certainly lost my vote. I will have no confidence in them to lead this country for another four years. We have more priorities that needs attention like our schools, hospital, roads, etc. not a race track that is barely used annually.
It is $170,000 not $1,700,000. Please read properly.
@Expat You know all about their supposed greedy thieving blood sucking nature yet you choose to stay here amongst them. As expat you say they take advantage of their employees but since you are still here I guess you are happy to be taken advantage of.
That hateful speech and generalization of Virgin Islanders really says more about you than them because as bad as you claim it to be here you still can’t return to your perfect country.
Another distribution scheme and then we go around to beg money for schools!!
Leave these greedy People and their dramatic greed alone with their land they never work for. Their father have to be crying in his grave wondering how my family get so..
Not to mention using and abusing expat people girl and boy children. They are very bad people.
all the ‘anomalies’ in these lease contracts please. This new article is too vague or is that one of the anomalies?
Expat left out mentality in the description serious. Your comments are spot on with your abusive and careless mentality. Just listen to yourself instead you should learn to deal with people.
I remember some persons commenting that they believed the Thomas lady and that the government officials were liars.
Government should let the horse owners association deal with this – and stop putting our tax dollars into this.
Pay the for the land or give the both family two peaces of land and stop this bull s**t. Tooo much money paying out by government.
If their father was still around, everything would still be running in the manner that it should.
HORSE RACING IS CONTROLLED BY GANGSTERS AND UNDESIRABLES.
GREED IS THE DOWNFALL OF OUR TERRITORY. LEAVE THAT LAND ALONE AND SEE WHAT THE OWNERS CAN GENERATE FOR IT. GOVERNMENT NEED NOT PAY! THERE ARE MORE SERIOUS AND PRESSING ISSUES THAT NEEDS URGENT ATTENTION AND COST WAY LESS.
Imagine children was going to school on top of foxys, Althea Scatliffe literally falling apart till it not even safe to be inside of and we here pissing away $170,000 annually on lease for horse track… where there is no vision the people will perish… independence how when it don’t even seem like we have common sense?
Without even looking I see that the 9th Rep has moved office for some unexplained reasons. Now we paying rent at Hazel Point for another government office? Who owns that building,hmmm. We just paid more than $800K to fix up a government building in the North Sound and no one there? I think he’d look good setting up shop in the more than $200K rebuilt North Sound Post Office also sitting empty, just his size and just need a mini fridge for….
Cuz they like to dress up in tux and fancy hats. Don’t you?
@ Priorities always backward.
Don’t you mean horse s**t ?
All this for a race track that gets used about 5 times a year…doe the govt make any money off the races to offset rental of the land? Sounds to me like yet anothe round of cronyism and backroom deals. Why do we even need a race track? Shouldn’t we instead be spending the money on fixing schools (5 years past Irma now), roads, infrastructure?
Not so long ago, the governemnt was payimng one of its own elected politicians $ 1 million a year for a building that was not usable because of mold issues, and remained vacant for the lease period. Mold issues are generally caused by poor maintenance practices, which usually fall on the owner.
I think the government miss understood the Lady in the negotiations. I think the lady wanted to sell the government the land for the 1.3 million. That could not be the lease for one year. Maybe the $1.3 million is for the complete five-year lease. Can we get some clarifications please.
Those in Government have their priorities screwed up. Get the roads, water and electricity supply, schools, etc. in perfect condition first, since these are essential for the territory’s future development, before spending on fancy things that don’t aid our future growth.
Just move the horse racing to somewhere else. Want all gets none. If we already pay for this year and still can’t use the track I don’t see no reason to keep doing business with these greedy people. It was a stupid deal in the first place tbh let the horse owners find their own track to race horse on what government getting out of this?
Typical
Belonger seeing an opportunity to grab more cash while hurting himself and everyone associated with it. Sound familiar?
How many times have we seen belongers raise rent and lease on successful enterprises only to have the business operator say no and close up shop. Who does that benefit?
Greed will be our downfall
Firstly, do so the posters who say govt shouldn’t have anything to do with horse races understsnd the amount of money that flows in to the BVI economy due to horse race?
Ferries, departure tax3s, rentals, restaurants, vendors, taxis, hotel etc.
It is a good investment fire a government. We need a better rent and paramutual being to be alloe3d in order to make more money.
Take the plane from the families by Eminent Domain! Put the money on their bank wccount for the fair value of the 3 oil pieces of land. That’s that!
Their greediness gives grounds now for Eminent Domain take over of the land by government in the interest of the BVI. Stop playing with them.
The land owners could lease that property to foreign investors for a whole lot more money,in addition,property value will go up for Sea Cows Bay and surrounding areas BVIslanders should profit from their property as much as anyone. The kingpins utilizing the property for sport with the generous taxpayers dollars, are millionares with expensive toys and assets.
Soooo put up or move on is my suggestion to the Government.
Well Sah! If Government paying for horse race where is the revenue? If they can’t show that, then we have had nothing but idiots running this place from the start.
That land next to a dump and a gas station is not worth shyt!
LORD WHAT AR HOT MESS.
GREED TO THE GREED, GREED. THAT WILL BE THE DOWNFALL OF MANY OF YOU. CASH LESS SOCIETY COMING SOON.
Shut the whole thing down , let the BVI horses just race in the USVI.
Show me the numbers… nobody don’t care about horse race no more… horse race not filling no hotels in the BVI
How she say ain money… they greedy … keep r u track and r u yard nobody want them
u a big fool shut up
Them thomas ain ez… he worrying about money he need worry about what he have…she is wa gone make he broke…
@ Everyone in agreement,
I am glad that you have some clarity of points and agreed that if this Unity government sign another contract for Horse Racing they will not get my family votes.
I recall when a young lady ran for the VIP party one of her ideas was to build a race track (it was either bikes or cars)some where in Beef Island. She did not win and no one work with her to manifest that idea. That would have bought more tournament, people, sale of hotel rooms, food and other recreation.
I cannot smile ,or laugh at this and many other deals of contract, 170 K for how many years ? 170Kx 5years =850K could buy more that ten acres of land,at the first time of negotiation . I am not sure that at the beginning of this contract the then AG did not realized that the return would not have been anything much, and it would not be value to the people. Close that chapter and move on. COI check all the contracts for building rental.
I agree, that was a soft deal, and all of them went along with it. seems a good event to get a kick back