In the wake of the recent devastating fire at Classy Lane Training Centre on January 4th, in this week's Rewind Robert Smith recalls a similar tragedy from over 50 years ago. A huge fire at Batavia Downs in October of 1962 took a heavy toll, particularly on two then young Canadian horsemen.

The above headline announced the horrible tragedy from 1962 at Batavia Downs. The total number of horses lost as shown increased upon further investigation.

Early on the morning of Sunday, October 14, 1962 at around 8 a.m., a fire of unknown origin broke out in the backstretch area of Batavia Downs. Within minutes, two stables were ablaze. As caretakers and rescue workers attempted to save as many horses as possible, it was soon evident that a major fire was underway. As so often happens, a number of horses instinctively ran back into the burning buildings. Many others were forced out, using water soaked towels to cover their eyes. A large number of horses not immediately involved were led out onto the track and let loose as a safety precaution. I can recall hearing first-hand reports from people who were there about how the horses were actually putting on their own "race" during the mêlée. It was apparently amusing on a day otherwise overshadowed by horror as it took over three hours to finally round the horses up.

The fire broke out in Barn 12 located in the North West corner of the complex and soon spread to the adjacent stable 11. Both barns were 40 feet wide and 200 feet long, and built in 1953. It was feared that the nearby Race Office might also become involved which could mean the loss of valuable records. A team of people soon began to shuttle boxes of documents to the track restaurant for safe keeping. A number of people were injured during the height of the fire and one man received facial burns as well as suffering from smoke inhalation. The track estimated its loss in buildings and equipment at $125,000. There was no immediate estimate of the value of the horses that perished. In the track's 23-year history, this was the first fire ever recorded. It could have been much worse considering that nearly 600 horses were on the grounds.

When the fire was finally subdued by the Batavia Fire Dept. -- assisted by six other fire departments from Genesee County -- and order restored, the grim task of taking toll of the casualties began. A 38-year-old groom by the name of Jack Jamison was the only human victim, and his demise was somewhat strange. He had risen earlier and began his morning chores, after which he attended the track restaurant for breakfast around 7:30 a.m.. Upon his return it is unclear why he became a casualty, the only explanation being that he had returned to bed and was asleep. He had only been at the track for some three days from his native Mercer, Pennsylvania. Although relatively unknown, he was described by colleagues as "quiet and friendly."

The loss of horses was significant; in all, a total of 25 horses perished. Hardest hit was the stable of the Downs' leading driver Wm. "Buddy" Gilmour, a native of Ridgeway, Ont. and just 30 years old at the time. He lost a staggering 18 head. Among them was the outstanding six-year-old stallion Howard Rosecroft, who had just won his most recent start the night previous to the fire. This horse was co-owned by Gilmour and Sheridan Revington of Lucan, Ont., and was a former Horse of the Year in Western New York. A total of three top money-winning horses were among those lost, all having lifetime earnings of over $100,000. In addition to Howard Rosecroft were the trotters Bold Colby and Demon Damsel, the latter was from the Delvin Miller stable and at Batavia for a current trotting series. Thankfully handlers were able to rescue seven from the Gilmour barn, but a couple were too seriously burned to be saved.

Wm. "Buddy" Gilmour is shown with the three-year-old colt Symboleer which he lost in the Batavia fire. This horse was originally rescued but his injuries were too severe.

Canadian horseman Clint Galbraith of Tara, Ont., just 25 at the time, suffered the loss of four from his stable. Additionally a yearling filly sired by Kimberly Kid was severely burned but chances of her recovery were promising. Seven of Galbraith's stock including his star trotting mare Helen Brooke K. were saved. Lost in the fire was Kalmuck Direct, a sentimental favourite of Clint's who had provided him with his first career victory several year previous to this. Mr. John Wehle of nearby Scottsdale, N.Y., the owner of The Genesee Brewing Co., had four perish in the inferno as part of the Gilmour barn.

At this time the Batavia horsemen included a large percentage of Canadian-based stables. Among them were those of Ed Arthur, Dr. John Findley, "Ancaster Bill' Harvey, George Gilmour, "Red" Holmes, Cecil Champion, Jack Mehlenbacher, Joe Hodgins, Don Larkin, Gary Campbell, Harold & Wm. Wellwood, Ron Turcotte and a number of others. Although some were close by especially the Wellwood contingent in Barn 11, they did not incur any losses or damage.

At right, Clint Galbraith, of Tara Ont. who lost four horses in the 1962 fire. After starting on the Ontario fair circuit Clint rose to national prominence winning several drivers titles at Batavia Downs.

With the fire occurring on a Sunday, the only "down" night of the week, Track officials quickly decided to immediately resume racing the following night. A somewhat larger than usual Monday night crowd of 4,403 was on hand, undoubtedly for a 'cause'. At the conclusion of the second race won by Franco Tim, a huge round of applause went out for the winning driver Bud Gilmour. When many of these same fans left the track after Saturday evening's card was completed, no one could have envisioned the horror that would occur the following day.

Thankfully both Bud and Clint quickly rebounded from the unfortunate happening and went on to stellar careers. Bud passed away in 2011 and Clint is still a New York State resident and according to fairly recent reports may still be doing a small amount of training.

A couple of weeks after the horrendous fire Batavia officials held two ceremonies to recall the human heroism and also to mourn the loss of so many valuable race horses. Eugene Lowen, a 31-year-old groom from New York State, was honoured for his part in leading many horses to safety. He was hospitalized for shock and minor burns at the time but was on hand to accept the thanks of the organizers and also a couple of cheques from Batavia Downs and the Marra Program Company.

In a separate ceremony a plaque was unveiled, listing the names of the horses who perished in the fire. This idea was put forth by Mrs. Wanda Appleton (left) a racing fan from nearby Rochester, N.Y. She was in attendance along with Herman Grannis, Batavia's general manager. It was announced that a permanent bronze plaque was planned to be located on the grounds.

The fear of fire and the knowledge of its potential devastation is an ongoing concern for anyone who has spent time around horses. No precaution can ever be too stringent regardless of its cost; no one can ever be too careful or too protective. To my knowledge no horse has ever started a fire. I can recall as a young child being summoned by my mother in the wee hours of the night as a nearby farmer's barn was on fire. The memory of how that inferno lit up the nighttime sky has never left me. My heart goes out to the recent victims of the Classy Lane disaster and indeed to anyone who has ever lost an animal in a fire.