By DRF.com
BONSALL, Calif. (Dec. 8, 2017) — The death toll in the San Luis Rey Downs fire in Bonsall, Calif., on Thursday is likely to surpass 40 horses, according to California Horse Racing Board chairman Chuck Winner, who toured the devastated property on Friday morning.
In a phone interview, Winner said the number of horses lost cannot be immediately known because so many runners were taken to different farms in the area, sent to Del Mar, or perished in barn fires at San Luis Rey Downs.
“We don’t know how many yet,” Winner said. “The estimates are above 40 to 42, I think. Those are just estimates. The problem is the vans were taking those horses in the night and taking them to farms around Bonsall. Some of them haven’t been accounted for yet.”
Some horses arrived at Del Mar and local farms without lip tattoos, making identifications difficult. Three farms in the direct vicinity of San Luis Rey Downs were housing approximately 150 horses on Thursday and into Friday, though some horses were being taken to Del Mar after being identified, according to farm staff.
Del Mar had approximately 250 horses from San Luis Rey Downs on its backstretch as of Friday morning. San Luis Rey Downs has capacity for 495 horses but was believed to have closer to 450 horses in residence at the time of the disaster.
Winner said discussions were taking place on Friday with Del Mar officials about long-term stabling accommodation in the coming months. Galway Downs in Temecula, Calif., east of Del Mar, has reached out to racing officials to say its facility can accommodate displaced stables, Winner said.
Winner praised the Southern California racing community and Del Mar officials for their fast actions to host and care for the racehorses and stable personnel affected by the fire.
“It’s really unbelievable the way Del Mar set up overnight,” he said. “They did a phenomenal job with volunteers coming in and people taking care of the horses.”
The powerful fire moved through San Luis Rey Downs in Bonsall, Calif., with such speed and ferocity that stable staff were forced to let horses loose on the property to move them away from burning barns.
According to the California Horse Racing Board, eight barns were burned, or about half the facility.
Trainer Scott Hansen said Friday that 15 horses in his 30-horse stable had died in a barn that burned down. Hansen was at Los Alamitos for races 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 fire.
“They were dropping the webbings to get them out of there,” Hansen said. “The palm trees caught fire above the barn. All hell broke loose real quick.”
The fire started at midday Thursday near the junction of Interstate 15 and California Highway 76, about four miles northeast of the training center, and moved quickly because of wind. Roads in and out of San Luis Rey Downs were briefly closed in the afternoon because of fast-moving flames. By late afternoon, horse vans had gained access to the property, leading to an evacuation to Del Mar.
Many horses who were loose on the property were corralled onto vans and identified when they arrived at Del Mar. Witnesses said loose horses were being gathered on the San Luis Rey property late Thursday night and early Friday morning.
Del Mar is expected to open for training this weekend to accommodate horses relocated from San Luis Rey Downs, according to track chief operating officer Josh Rubinstein.
Racetrack officials were scheduled to meet Friday with executives from the 22nd Agricultural District, which owns the racetrack property, and The Stronach Group, the parent company of San Luis Rey Downs and Santa Anita Park, to discuss details about temporary stabling requirements for the greater circuit.
Rubinstein stressed that officials with the 22nd District were accommodating the needs of the racing and greater horse communities affected by the wildfire.
“We are working with officials to make the facility available on a temporary basis,” Rubinstein said. “It’s a fluid situation, and we’re doing what we can to help.”
As of early Friday, there were approximately 250 horses from San Luis Rey Downs at Del Mar and 850 horses in total on the property.
“We’ve got four-legged creatures from all over,” Rubinstein said.
About 70 horses from San Luis Rey Downs were being kept at adjacent Trifecta Farms, a layup facility not significantly affected by the fire. Annabelle Weller-Poley, who oversees the farm, said that through Thursday afternoon horses were hurriedly moved to Trifecta by stable staff on foot. Some arrived by van.
“We were running across the road to get them,” she said. “We’re like a half-mile away.”
The transfers took place at a time when some of the San Luis Rey Downs facility was ablaze along with the nearby hillsides, causing intense smoke.
“It was horrible,” Weller-Poley said. “There were amazing and willing people that came through and helped.”
Weller-Poley said some horses needed immediate attention from veterinarians Thursday evening.
“We have some that are burned and some that have cuts that are being stitched,” she said Friday morning. “Most of the ones that are bad we got to last night.
“It’s very sad to see horses in such a horrible situation. Most are looking pretty good. We’re identifying them and putting them in the right places.
“It was a scary time.”
Two other local farms – Stenerson Ranch and Heart Bar Farm – were housing approximately 45 horses on their properties near San Luis Rey Downs on Friday and were in the process of caring and transferring the horses to Del Mar. Virginia Mulvaney of Stenerson Ranch and Paisley Phelps of Heart Bar Farms said they transported horses out of San Luis Rey Downs via vans Thursday.
San Luis Rey Downs, about 35 miles northeast of Del Mar, is the major non-racing training center in Southern California and is home to the primary stable of leading trainer Peter Miller. Other prominent trainers such as Richard Baltas, Phil D’Amato, Doug O’Neill, and Clifford Sise keep horses at the training center, particularly runners who have yet to start or are returning from layoffs.
Many other trainers with smaller operations are based at San Luis Rey Downs. All were affected by the fires.
Trainer Martine Bellocq, who has a small stable at San Luis Rey Downs, was hospitalized in an induced coma because of severe burns, according to a Facebook statement from her brother-in-law, Remi Bellocq. Remi Bellocq said Martine Bellocq lost three of her six horses.
Remi’s brother, Pierre, who is married to Martine, was hospitalized as a precaution with smoke inhalation.
Joe Herrick was hospitalized with burn injuries, according to his friend, jockey’s agent Bill Sadoo, who was en route to visit the trainer Friday morning.
The Stronach Group launched a GoFundMe account Friday to aid in hospital and rehabilitation costs for people affected by the fire. The track also was conducting a clothing drive for backstretch employees displaced by the fire.
On Friday morning, many trainers were working to reorganize their stables at Del Mar, seeking basic equipment for the barns and checking on runners. Michele Dollase has a 23-horse team of horses she trains and younger horses for other trainers. Of them, 22 were accounted for, according to her son, Austin Nakatani.
“We’re missing one,” he said. “We don’t know if the horse got loose.
“For the most part, most of our horses are good. They’re nervous and in a new area. They went through a lot. Health-issue-wise, so far, so good.
‘We’re thankful for the people that came to help. Grooms were fighting fires and trying to save their stuff. It’s their livelihood and their home. A lot of these guys lost everything. I feel bad for them.
“There were some people who weren’t as fortunate as us.”