When Becky Petri moved to the Virgin Islands 12 years ago she was appalled to find that horses, many of them castoffs from the local racetrack, were literally being abandoned on the streets, roads and fields of St. Thomas. Worse yet, no one seemed to care.

"I saw a horse on the side of the road," she said. "His skin was peeling off him, he was starving, he was in horrible condition."

In this case, Petri got the local humane society to step in, but that hardly stopped a problem in country where suitable land and space for horses is scarce, animal cruelty laws are only now being written into the books and some thoroughbred owners simply don't care about the welfare of their horses. In the Virgin Islands, a retired race horse could just as easily wind up abandoned as it to find a good home. Over the years, Petri saw dozens of cases of such neglect and abuse. She always did what she could, but with little money and few suitable places on the island to put horses that needed rescuing, there was only so much she could do.

There are still ex-racehorses that wind up being tossed away onto the streets of the Virgin Islands. But an abandoned or unwanted horse now has a good chance of making it to safety thanks to Petri and two horse-loving friends, Kate Johnson and Lynn Utech, who have started an organization called The Virgin Islands Community Cooperative Thoroughbred Retirement Effort–or VICCTRE (pronounced "victory") for short.

Less than a month ago, VICCTRE's latest success story arrived safely in Florida and is now on his way to a full recovery at the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's farm at the Marion Correctional Center in Ocala. His name is Vintime, a 7-year-old gelding by Alydeed.

Vintime was found loose running down a road in St. John by Johnson, after she was alerted by a friend. Apparently, the horse had been running loose for days.

"The horse was starved and hurt," Johnson wrote in a journal. "All his ribs, both hips and back bone were visible. In addition, he was bleeding from wounds on his right front shoulder and a gaping wound on his right pastern; living flesh still hanging from the latter. I couldn't believe the horrific condition of this animal.

"How horrified was I to see this amazing horse had been forced into survival mode. He was in search of any grass, weed or plant that he could eat, but barely able to navigate a path due to his pain-filled legs and aching body. His skin was stiff, his membranes without a drop of water and each rib protruding from his sides told the story of neglect. But his eyes, they had a sparkle that said, "I'm not ready to give up yet."

Vintime's only crime was that he was too beaten up and too slow to remain competitive at the local racetrack.

Once Vintime has been rescued, there was still the problem of transporting him to Florida, which costs about $2,700. To help raise the money, Johnson took Vintime bar hopping.

"I took him to town one Sunday, between three and six," she said. "I had a little donation bucket tied around his neck and took him to the happy hours at three different bars. We raised almost $2,000 from that. I had to explain to people what I was doing and what the situation was. But once they understood, they were thrilled to participate."

By mid-August, Vintime and a horse named Agassi, who was not neglected but needed a home after being retired from the track, were on their way to Florida via Puerto Rico. It was the sort of heroic feat Petri probably never could have pulled off before VICCTRE was formed.

The group is now organized, is raising awareness of the problem, has helped convince government to formulate some basic animal cruelty laws and is trying to raise money. It has also made a vital connection with the TRF. For the first time, Petri and her friends have a viable place to send the abandoned horses of the Virgin Islands.

"I wanted to have an organization like this for years," Petri said. "My problem was I didn't know what to do with the horses. If it weren't for the TRF's willingness to take some of these horses, I still don't know what I'd do with them. The TRF gave us hope."

Two more horses saved by VICCTRE will depart the Virgin Islands on their way to the TRF and Florida Oct. 1. There are still the issues of coming up with the money to ship the horses to the U.S. and finding other alternatives for them besides the TRF, like local adoptions. But don't underestimate Johnson, Petri and Utech and their will to solve a terrible problem.

"Vinnie is the lucky horse in this story," Johnson wrote. "...'Tonto' died two days after Vinnie's rescue of extreme starvation, neglect and abuse. He was found surrounded by garbage in a small valley on the side of the road...People passed Tonto every day and assumed that somebody else would take care of him."

The three are determined there will never be another story like Tonto's again. Don't bet against them