Horrible Fire at Lebanon Raceway in Ohio
 

I know this is technically a harness story, but it is equally as tragic and deserves to be pointed out. Early Saturday morning a fire broke out at Lebanon Raceway in Ohio, and the latest reports are that 2 people and as many as 80 horses have died.

Here is a story out of Ohio, and if I get any additional news I will try to pass it along.

:( terrible

OMG! How awful!! :(

One groom dead, one missing 50-60 horses perished...just horrific.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/...re-434773.html

That's beyond awful. :(

A barn fire is one of my biggest fears. How horrible this happened.

Morning after... 2 men speculatively identified.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...1.html?sid=101

Police would not confirm names of the dead. Horse owners think two trainers, Ronnie Williams and James Edwards, were in the barn when it caught fire. Coroner officials could not confirm the identities of the two victims pulled from the structure.

The two men who were thought to be in the barn were described by friends as dedicated horsemen. Williams is a legend around the track. His father, George Williams, was one of the first black drivers at the harness-racing track, said his sister Donna Williams. She confirmed her brother was unaccounted for early yesterday.

Edwards got his nickname, "Turtle," because he walked at a leisurely pace and his nose resembled that of the tortoise from the Bugs Bunny cartoon, which proves that slow and steady wins the race.

Just awful.

Update

Fire investigators have stated that there does not appear to be any "criminal intent" for the fire. I suppose that this is about the only good news in all of this.

Investigators have not officially released the names of the dead, but the horsemen have essentially stated that trainers Ronnie Williams and James "Turtle" Edwards were in the barn when the fire started and nobody has seen them since, which unfortunately means they had to be the two that lost their lives in the blaze.

Springfield News-Sun Article