Reports indicate close to 30 standardbred racehorses have perished in a barn fire that took place during the early morning hours of Saturday, June 2 at the Mount Hope Training Center in New York.
The training center is located approximately 26 miles south of Monticello Raceway and operated, according to its website, by trainer Rich Banca. The blaze was handled by the Otisville Fire Company, who has yet to offer an official statement on the blaze other than to "thank all mutual aid companies, fire investigators, Deputy fire coordinators, Mobile Life, New York State Fire for all the help at this morning's barn fire."
Since the tragic fire, a pair of GoFundMe pages (available here and here) have been started to help those affected by the loss of life and equipment.
Trot Insider will continue to follow this story and publish more details as they become available.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of the horses involved in the Mount Hope Training Center barn fire.
Very tragic and heartbreaking
Very tragic and heartbreaking :(