Nine race horses have been killed in a stable fire in Pittsylvania, the largest county in the state of Virginia in the USA.
The fire, believed to be started by an electrical fault, spread rapidly through the barn, denying rescuers the time to save the horses. Only one horse was saved.
Owner David Reynolds was devastated: “I am an ex-jockey and a horse trainer. This is all I know and it’s all I have ever done. These are like my children. The worst thing was walking up there and seeing it on the ground and looking at the horses in the stall burnt. That was the tough part.”
Deputy Fire Marshall, Shannon Robertson, said: “By the time fire units got on the scene it was already destroyed. It had already burned.”
Mr Reynolds added: “I lost over one hundred thousand dollars easily. The good Lord never puts more on you than you can handle. You have to suck it up and go on.”
