An early Tuesday morning barn fire has killed more than a dozen racehorses in Saratoga Springs.
Saratoga Springs firefighters responded to a blaze at 25 Nelson Ave. shortly after 2:30 a.m.
The barn fire killed 17 horses. Four horses were rescued unharmed, and one horse reportedly escaped the barn but was found early Tuesday relatively untouched by the flames.
Sarah Burger, who represents the city on the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors, is also an attorney for the Saratoga Harness Horsepersons Association.
“I woke up to calls this morning that there was a major fire here at the harness track. We’ve learned this morning that we have one barn with a total loss,” said Burger.
Burger added two trainers had horses in the impacted barn.
“Robin Mangiardi and Tim Benson. This is very impactful; this is their livelihood, this is their life. You know ... there are few words to describe this,” said Burger.
In a statement, Henry Westbrook, president of the Saratoga Harness Horseperson’s Association, said, “This is a sobering day in our industry, a horse person’s worst nightmare. We express our deep condolences to all impacted and thank all emergency responders and track workers for their quick response.”
An investigation into the fire is ongoing according to city public safety officials. They said the blaze was contained to the initial building.
“I think we need to get at the heart of what the cause of this fire was to the extent that we’re able to,” said Burger. “Of course, barn fires can easily happen, and it can happen anywhere. You may not think it can happen to you, and it happened. We need to understand why it happened, and we need to do everything in our power to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
No human injuries linked to the fire have been reported.
Live harness racing at the track has been cancelled for Tuesday.
