A fire at an equestrian centre has left 23 horses dead. The blaze caused devastation at racehorse training yard Mercury Equine Center, Lexington, Kentucky, on 18 December. In total 23 horses died, most of whom were yearlings. One of the horses that died was a three year old filly who just won her first $100.000 stakes race. One of the other horses was scheduled to race on the following day in Ohio. Thirteen horses could be saved from the fire. The fire didn't spread to a second barn, leaving 50 more horses unharmed. The barn that caught fire had already collapsed when firefighters arrived, according to yard owner Eric Reed. “While we were waiting, we were in the barn, running in the flames and smoke, saving horses,” he told local press. “They were heroes, the people who work for me. They went above and beyond what I could even imagine anybody trying to do.” Friends of the Reed family have set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for equipment, such as rugs and headcollars, and care of the surviving horses.
A fire at an equestrian centre has left 23 horses dead. The blaze caused devastation at racehorse training yard Mercury Equine Center, Lexington, Kentucky, on 18 December. In total 23 horses died, most of whom were yearlings. One of the horses that died was a three year old filly who just won her first $100.000 stakes race. One of the other horses was scheduled to race on the following day in Ohio. Thirteen horses could be saved from the fire. The fire didn't spread to a second barn, leaving 50 more horses unharmed. The barn that caught fire had already collapsed when firefighters arrived, according to yard owner Eric Reed. “While we were waiting, we were in the barn, running in the flames and smoke, saving horses,” he told local press. “They were heroes, the people who work for me. They went above and beyond what I could even imagine anybody trying to do.” Friends of the Reed family have set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for equipment, such as rugs and headcollars, and care of the surviving horses.