Stable fire kills 28 racehorses

More than two dozen racehorses have died after a fire broke out in a stable in upstate New York.

The barn blaze at Mount Hope Training Center, a 300-acre facility in Orange County, New York, killed all 28 horses inside in the early hours of Saturday morning.

“We could not save one horse,” an employee who identified himself as Saur told the New York Post. “They are all dead.”

Saur said that the horses had returned from a racing event at around 1.30am. An hour and a half later, another worker arrived to feed the horses.

An unidentified groom told horseracing website Paulick Report what happened next.

“He saw half the barn on fire,” he said. “He came back and shouted, ‘Fire! fire!’ and everybody was running to help to save the horses.”

Multiple fire crews also attended the scene. However, the fire spread too rapidly and none of the 28 horses housed inside could be saved.

“They were crying like babies,” Saur told the Post. “They are like humans…” he said. “This is killing me.”

The local fire department is said to be investigating a lightning strike as a potential cause of the deadly inferno.