A two-year-old filly spotted running down a Kentucky highway on Saturday was fortunate to escape the Ellis Park barn fire the following morning.
The unraced Kentucky-bred filly named Bold and Bossy made headlines when she found her way onto Highway 41 after tossing her jockey and getting loose prior to her first race at Ellis Park on Saturday.
With her saddle and blinkers on, she proceeded to gallop 30 minutes down the highway in the vicinity of vehicles with trainers and the sheriff's department in pursuit before tiring and getting corralled by a couple of good samaritans.
“Just by the grace of God, she was not hit,” owner Michael Ann Ewing was quoted as saying in an article on The Washington Post. “Thank God she was not hurt or caused someone else to be severely injured or killed.”
The filly was resting and rehydrating from the exhaustive adventure overnight in the receiving barn at Ellis Park that caught fire on Sunday morning. Fortunately, she was rescued from the barn along with six other horses.
Ewing reported that she suffered burns on her neck and withers and is being treated by veterinarians at Lexington's Rood & Riddle.
“They’re assessing her lungs and putting more fluids into her and they’re going to evaluate the burns," said Ewing. "It’s really hard to tell how bad they are going to be. You could see dimpling under the cream.
“They’ll just do everything they can for her for a couple of days, then we’ll reassess and see what the game plan is.”