Fire Kills Horses at Lincoln Downs Race Track

SPRINGFIELD — Arson may have caused of a fire that killed 13 thoroughbreds and two saddle horses and destroyed a barn at the Lincoln Downs Race Track here, one day before the start of the racing season.

Ten horses escaped, two of them galloping with their backs ablaze into the night.

“Flames were shooting out of the building when we got here,” Fire Chief Bernard Perry said.

Only several rows of wooden supports of the one-story barn remained after the fire was extinguished.

The fire burned from 4 a.m. until about noon.

Fire officials are considering arson in their investigation.

Perry noted that the fire began in the middle of the barn while the assistant general manager of the track, Dan Bucci, said that the heaters and electrical outlets were at the ends of the barn.

“Those are my best friends,” said Albert Ramos, a jockey at the track, watching the workers clean up the area with a heavy heart. “I love horses more than I do people. I feel like I want to cry.”

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