Fire at San Luis Rey!?

[BaroqueAgain1]

TVG guys just passed along word that there is a fire at/near San Luis Rey? Anyone have more details?

[BaroqueAgain1]

Two fires; one at San Luis training center and another in the Bonsall (sp?) area.

ETA: Being called the Lilac Fire; horses that have to be evacuated can go to Del Mar.

[BaroqueAgain1]

http://www.pe.com/2017/12/07/lilac-fire ... 350-acres/

I'm disappointed that none of the racing news sites has a mention of this.

[BaroqueAgain1]

TVG's Scot just passed on the word that it is "a serious situation" at the SLR Training Center and that they are in great need of horse trailers. That anyone who lives down there and has a trailer, help is needed.

More: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/new ... story.html

[Indiano]

Lots of other horse farms in the area. Ocean Breeze Ranch, former Vessels Stallions, is right in the burn area, and humans have been burned at the ranch. Square Eddie resides there -- not sure how many other horses are there. Very concerned for them.

[BaroqueAgain1]

Paulick finally has something.
https://www.paulickreport.com/news/the- ... rey-downs/

Includes the video that Todd mentioned of horses running loose on what looks like part of the track?

[Indiano]

Cliff Sise said barns were on fire -- all they could do was turn the horses loose in the paddocks.

[Indiano]

Sise: “There are horses running loose down here. People have lost horses. Barns have burned down. It just happened so fast. I’m burned.”

[Diver52]

Not racehorses, but 30 horses were killed at a boarding stable near Los Angeles/Ventura area. Was in the L.A. Times this morning. I have friends in Ventura and near Bonsall and praying for them and everyone/all the animals in danger.

[RuffiantoRags]

Sounds like the worst is happening at San Luis Rey Downs, reports saying 75% of the barns are gone and many many horses have perished.
Don't know how I'm gonna sleep tonight with this image on my mind.

[Ridan_Remembered]

OMG, this is horrible. I lived in Torrance, CA for 40 years before moving to Charlotte, NC a couple of years ago. I heard about the 30 boarded horses, and now this at San Luis Rey. I wish there was something I could do other than just sit here and pray and cringe at the news.

If anyone here gets news about how we can help, maybe through donations, please post the info. Thanks so much.

Article from Horse Racing News: https://www.horseracingnation.com/news/ ... center_123#
Posted this at 9:18pm EST

Here is a video from San Luis Rey with people trying to free the horses and people trying to evacuate. It's horrible. Barns blazing, horses running wildly all over, people stunned and trying desperately to free the horses. One fellow carried a goat and put it in a car to save it. I could not watch without crying. https://www.horseracingnation.com/news/ ... is_Rey_123

Initial article from Bloodhorse.com -- https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing ... qus_thread

And from DRF: http://www.drf.com/news/horses-killed-b ... -rey-downs

[Sparrow Castle]

Replying to @zoecadman
@Shore_Sophie of @NexusRacingClub just set up this GoFundMe for San Luis Rey:
https://www.gofundme.com/help-for-san-luis-rey-downs

Patricia‏ @RealOneUB2
Update: @DelMarRacing needs experienced horse people at 6am Friday morning to do stall checks & check for colic. If you are experienced in this area and can get to Del Mar at 6am tomorrow morning, please help! Thank you & please retweet!

[Sparrow Castle]

Jeremy Balan‏Verified account @BH_JBalan
Bill Koch of Little Red Feather says their 2-year-old named Oddsmaker has died at San Luis Rey.

"We lost our best 2-year-old. I don't know what to do with myself. ... Total devastation."

Jeremy Balan‏Verified account
@BH_JBalan
Assistant trainer Leandro Mora says the Doug O'Neill San Luis Rey string is largely OK. Some have made it to Del Mar and other facilities in the area. Said he saw two horses running around literally on fire. Said another horse broke its hip from running around and was euthanized.

Aimee Dollase‏ @aimdolltbaolcom
Replying to @BH_JBalan @BloodHorse
Michele Dollase barn is safe everything below them was destroyed prayers to the horses that perished and those who made it through I can’t say enough for the people who helped out gathering all the horses that were loose

[Ridan_Remembered]

Replying to @zoecadman
@Shore_Sophie of @NexusRacingClub just set up this GoFundMe for San Luis Rey:
https://www.gofundme.com/help-for-san-luis-rey-downs

Patricia‏ @RealOneUB2
Update: @DelMarRacing needs experienced horse people at 6am Friday morning to do stall checks & check for colic. If you are experienced in this area and can get to Del Mar at 6am tomorrow morning, please help! Thank you & please retweet!

Thanks Sparrow Castle. I will donate.

[Sparrow Castle]

Horses killed, barns destroyed as fire sweeps through San Luis Rey Downs

Several barns were destroyed and an unknown number of horses died after a fast-moving fire moved through the San Luis Rey Downs training center in San Diego County on Thursday afternoon, according to horsemen on the property.

Trainer Scott Hansen said late Thursday afternoon that he feared his 30-horse stable lost as many as 10 horses.

Hansen was at Los Alamitos for races on Thursday and was in contact with a member of his stable staff who said a majority of their horses were released from their stalls and set loose on the property to get away from the burning barn.

“I don’t know the extent of the damage,” he said. “I know I lost horses. I had 30 horses. My guy estimates at least eight to 10 didn’t make it. That’s a guess.

“They were dropping the webbings to get them out of there. The palm trees caught fire above the barn. All hell broke loose real quick.”

Hansen said many of his horses could not be accounted for. Late Thursday afternoon, equine vans were granted access to the property. Loose horses were being gathered as rapidly as possible to be shipped to Del Mar.

David Jerkens, racing secretary at Del Mar, said that as of 5 p.m. approximately 35 horses were on the grounds from San Luis Rey Downs, with horse vans of all sizes arriving frequently.

“We’ll worry about identifying them” later, he said. “The main thing is to get them on a van and to Del Mar.”

Austin Nakatani, whose mother Michele Dollase trains a stable at San Luis Rey Downs, and trainer Sam Scolamieri said several barns were lost on a property that houses more than 400 horses.

“It’s taken 75 percent of San Luis Rey Downs,” Nakatani said. “There have been casualties. It’s not good.”

In a text message, Scolamieri said that the barns on the lower side of the property “appear to be gone.”

It was not immediately clear how many horses perished.

As the fire approached, scores of horses were let out of their stalls to run loose on the property, primarily on the infield of the training track, to get them out of the barns.

Keith Brackpool, chairman of Santa Anita which owns San Luis Rey Downs, said stable personnel had no choice but to let horses loose to get them away from the barns.

“This thing came out of nowhere,” Brackpool said of the fire. “They had to move the horses out of the stalls.”

Nakatani said four fire trucks were on the property in an effort to salvage other buildings, such as barns and dormitories.

The fire led to the evacuation of some horses from San Luis Rey Downs to the Del Mar Horse Park and Del Mar racetrack early in the afternoon before sheriff department banned transportation in and out of the area because of the fast-moving flames.

Television pictures showed a herd of about 50 horses running freely on the track’s infield, Jerkens said. Later in the afternoon, Jerkens said television pictures showed some vans leaving the property and stable staff trying to reach the horses on the infield.

Steve Rothblum, who works closely with trainer Doug O’Neill, said their stable got “six to 15” horses off the property before sheriff’s officials put a halt to traffic because of the flames.

“We had vans ready but they wouldn’t let them in,” Rothblum said. “We turned a lot loose on the infield of the training track in hope.”

More: http://www.drf.com/news/horses-killed-b ... -rey-downs

[Sparrow Castle]

Jeremy Balan plans to keep updating his latest story.

Evacuation Efforts Underway at San Luis Rey

vacuation efforts for horses at San Luis Rey Training Center are underway due to a brush fire Dec. 7 that broke out at and around the Bonsall, Calif., facility.

According to trainer Cliff Sise, horses at San Luis Rey were released from their stalls in order to avoid burning barns and have been running free within the facility since the afternoon.

"There are horses running all loose down here," Sise said. "People have lost horses. Barns have burned down. It just happened so fast that (we) had to do something."

Trainer Scott Hansen, who was saddling a horse for a race at Los Alamitos Race Course Thursday, said he knows some of his horses have died, but is still waiting for the final total. He estimates 8-10 have died.

"I wish we would have made that decision (to let horses out of their stalls) a little sooner, but to turn racehorses loose on a racetrack is not a safe thing," Hansen said. "It was a last resort. We heard vans were en route, but they didn't get there in time. It still hasn't sunk in."

Later in the day, Sise provided further detail of what occurred at Hansen's barn.

"I heard them screaming, so I was able to get the webbing off of some, but the fire was so bad, I couldn't get to them all," Sise said.

Billy Koch of Little Red Feather Racing said Oddsmaker, an unraced 2-year-old, also died in the fire.

OBS Sales
"We lost our best 2-year-old," Koch said of the Phil D'Amato-trained Morning Line colt. "I don't know what to do with myself. ... Total devastation."

Trainer Sam Scolamieri, who was on the ground at San Luis Rey, estimates half of the training center's barns have been burned down. Barns closer to the track and at a lower elevation were in the area where the fire was worst, while barns farther away from the track at a higher elevation were safer.

Doug O'Neill's assistant trainer, Leandro Mora, said the O’Neill San Luis Rey string was largely OK, but gave a chilling account of the devastation.

"We’re very blessed that the majority of our horses are fine," Mora said. "We had to let some horses loose and were very lucky to put 10 on two different vans right away. Four are at Del Mar, four are (at other facilities), and some are roaming around. ... I saw two horses burn to death, running around on fire. They were all just running around so wild. We saw one break down, probably his hip, from running around, and we found out later they put him down.

“I never thought in my life that I’d see something like that."

More: https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing ... qus_thread

[Ridan_Remembered]

It's just after 10:00pm EST and I have been watching live news streaming from San Diego. They just reported that all the surviving horses have been evacuated. Many brave barn employees refused to leave until the horses could be all rounded up and put on vans to evacuate to Del Mar. Unknown at this time how many horses (and other animals) have died. At least one person was injured. One trainer, I think it was Cliff Sise, said his own horse died. The reporter said the gates to SLR are now closed as everyone has evacuated.

Update at about 10:15pm EST, reports from San Diego news says Del Mar Fairgrounds now has full capacity volunteers who arrived to help. Del Mar is asking for supplies, feed, etc., and for volunteers to return in the morning in shifts to help care for the horses. Reporter said there has been an amazing response by the community to help the horses and other animals evacuated to Del Mar.

[Life At Zen]

I am sick reading this. I can't imagine the complete desperation letting them loose. Goes against everything you know.

Prayers for everyone there.

[Sparrow Castle]

This sounds like a conflicting report, Ridan.

Jeremy Balan‏Verified account @BH_JBalan
8m8 minutes ago
The danger going forward is there are still horses loose at San Luis Rey. Jockey agent Matt Nakatani says it is pitch black there. Toss in uneven ground and some hills. Know of one horse already who broke down and had to be euthanized.

[Flanders]

I will not suggest anyone watch this video but there is a video from someone who was trying to desperately save the horses. Its terrifying and extremely dangerous with the huge herd of horses just running around blindly in terror. People can be so brave in bad situations.
https://www.facebook.com/leonel.smithor ... 856329056/