That's what happened at Blue Ribbon Downs on Wednesday afternoon when a fire broke out in one of the barns.
A fire in a wooden barn full of horses is one of the most dreaded and horrible experiences that can occur in a horseman's life, and in the lives of animal lovers or any compassionate human being.
Two barn fires have occurred at our own racetrack since my tenure here. The first, in the early 1980s, left grown men in tears. The deadly fire sprang to life in nearly the middle of the night, which did not give the caretakers of these beautiful animals enough time to come to their rescue. That fire was over 20 years ago, and as many as 20 horses were lost, if memory doesn't fail me.
But two impressions remain clearly in my mind. As that fire raged, overwhelmed and dejected horsemen could do nothing but stand and watch as horses burned to death.
The second impression, the next day, was one of the worst I have ever seen. It was a backhoe removing the charred remains of those animals...all of whom represented hopes and dreams to someone. That memory is like a stab in the heart.
The second fire occurred in 1998 and was covered in depth by Karin Sims, a reporter and photographer for Your TIMES at the time.
Sims, a horsewoman herself, wrote her story of that cruel fire from the horsemen's point of view. She told of the desperate attempts of the horsemen to save the horses. She told how several of those horsemen were burned and smoke-damaged themselves while trying to save the horses. She wrote about how the horsemen threw open stall doors, hoping the young horses would bolt to safety, but how heart wrenching it was because the horses didn't run. That small stall space is the horse's home, its safe place. Many refused to leave. She wrote about the tears that came to horsemen's eyes as they told her their stories, and about the screams they heard from the dying animals the horsemen cared about so much. Karin Sims won a national award for that story about humanity at its best.
Wednesday's fire had a much better ending than the previous fires. Wednesday's story is about family...the family of horsemen at Blue Ribbon Downs.
Spotted early on and during daylight hours, this barn fire had no chance to destroy the animals or the lives of their humans. Blaine Story, the track's assistant manager, described how all the horsemen at the track rushed to the burning barn to help. He described how they raced through the burning barn, flinging stall doors open and chasing racehorses from their stalls, the one place the horses feel safe. Other horsemen guarded the barn's end doors just so the young chargers wouldn't turn and try to go home, back into the burning barn.
The track's maintenance supervisor, Bill Faries, risked his own life by storming the barn to try to fight the fire at its source and rescue horses. Overcome by smoke, Faries refused medical attention until he knew all the horses were safe.
Then more horsemen arrived. They came on foot, in their pickup trucks, and on horseback. The racehorses were safe from the fire, but now there were 35 speedsters doing just that, speeding around the huge field east of the barn, and some made a run for U.S. Highway 64. Racehorses are not exactly your basic backyard horse. These horses were doing what racehorses do best...running, running free.
That presented another problem. As big and fast and intimidating as these creatures seem, they are actually very delicate. Most especially, those long, slender legs are susceptible to injury.
So the roundup began. Horsemen and horsewomen, jockeys, trainers, grooms, track personnel, some of whom knew one another and some who didn't, raced to the rescue. They ran to save the horses.
And they did. Grabbing halters and lead ropes from other barns and other trainers, and working together, they formed a plan. They drove that galloping, charging, swirling group of runaway horses into a safer barn, a barn not on fire. Then each grabbed a horse, held on for dear life until the frightened animal settled down and could be haltered. Then, in a long line, each horseman led each precious animal away from the fire, to a safer place, alive and unharmed.
Yes, horsemen fuss and cuss, just like any family, but not on this day. On this day they were family, helping one another. And they saved the day.
After all, that's what every family's about isn't it?
To those courageous and self-sacrificing horsemen, we offer a pat on the back because there was no tragedy at the racetrack on Wednesday. Job well done! And thank you...thank you to the family of horsemen at Blue Ribbon Downs.
