‘Sick to my stomach.’ 3 horses die after lightning causes a barn fire in Lexington
Three horses died Sunday after a barn fire in Lexington, according to the Lexington Fire Department.
Firefighters were dispatched to the 2800 block of Elkchester Road Sunday afternoon for a report of a barn fire and found the barn fully engulfed in flames when they arrived, according to Major Jessica Bowman.
The fire started as a result of a lightning strike, Bowman said. Nine horses were inside the barn when it caught fire and only six were able to escape. Wesley Ward, the owner of the barn and an accomplished horse trainer, said a friend rescued the six surviving horses by opening barn doors amid the blaze.
“He’s an absolute hero,” Ward said of Bruce Flowers, the friend who opened up the doors to the barn and called 911. “I can’t thank him enough. He’s the one that went in when the flames were going and opened up all the stall doors. Thank God six of them ran out, but I’m sick to my stomach that three of them died.”
One of the horses who died was Strike the Tiger, a 15-year-old retired race horse who delivered Ward his first Royal Ascot victory in 2009 at Windsor Castle. Ward was the first American trainer to saddle a winner at Royal Ascot with the victory in 2009.
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 9:15 AM.
