Thirty equine angels in Tioga

I understand if you’ve never heard of Da Boogie Man. He was a harness horse who raced a few times at Saratoga – I always thought he had a cool name, and was more than willing to put a few dollars on him.

In his career, Da Boogie Man raced 45 times, and scattered 11 victories over several of the Northeast’s best tracks – including seven wins at Vernon Downs in Central New York.

I mention his name because … sadly … Da Boogie Man was one of thirty horses who perished in a barn fire at Tioga Downs last week.

I hate that I even had to type those words into my computer. I hate that these names are now part of a horrible, terrible tragedy. Here are all the horses, in alphabetical order by name (one horse had not yet been officially named).

• Always Smooth
• Better Call Saul
• Birdie Three
• Blazin Mooss
• Buzzards R Flying
• Da Boogie Man
• Danzon Hanover
• Diamond Express
• Fireside Tail
• Grant Me This
• Hall It Off
• Hot Shot Joe
• Hunts Point
• Ideal Chance
• Its Rigged
• Karpathos
• Lone Wolf American
• Market Mayhem
• Mc Mach
• My Delight
• Payara
• Pineapple Sundae
• Pocket Watch N
• Prairie Dutchess
• Ruff Montana Lane
• SD Watch Me Now
• Silverhill Misty
• Slave Labour
• Violence
• an unnamed yearling

A barn fire is one of the most frightening situations a horse owner can imagine. Nearly everything in a barn – the hay, the straw, the wood – can catch fire in an instant. And despite valiant efforts to save the horses from the flames … it still wasn’t enough.

Honestly … this saddens me. It should sadden anybody. These horses weren’t owned by multi-million dollar stables in Kentucky. These horses were owned by families. These horses were, for all intents and purposes, family – as much a part of the family as the riders and the grooms and the trainers and the stall-muckers. If this had been a horrible, unavoidable accident – a spark of lightning, a failed circuit breaker – it still would be tragic.

This fire was not caused by a spark of lightning.

This fire was not caused by a failed circuit breaker.

This fire was caused by a 32-year-old man from Pennsylvania. This man intentionally broke into the barn. He intentionally started the fire. HE INTENTIONALLY MURDERED 30 HORSES.

And now he is charged with four felonies, including:

• Arson in the third degree, a class “C” felony
• Burglary in the third degree, a class “D” felony
• Criminal Mischief in the second degree, a class “D” felony
• Assault in the second degree, a class “D” felony

What kind of sick individual breaks into a barn and sets it on fire, trapping the horses to die painful deaths? What kind of shithead has such a diseased heart that he would cause that kind of destruction? Fuck charging him with arson and burglary. This jackass needs to face homicide charges and animal cruelty charges. And there were also people who tried to run into the barn and save the horses – who were forced out of the barn by the smoke and flames and heat. One of those people who tried to rescue the horses suffered second-degree burns.

No. I’m sorry. It doesn’t matter that those horse names I listed up there might just sound like a bunch of generic horse racing names to the uninitiated. Those were thirty horses that were the heart and soul of their owners and trainers. And all it took was one asshole with a match to destroy it all.

I understand that the USTA website has an amazing tribute to the 30 horses, as penned by Saratoga track photographer Jessica Hallett. I recommend you go to this link right now and read Ms. Hallett’s piece. And then you’ll know the stories of those horses and what they meant to everyone in their racing lives.

I understand the horses are now resting in their final home, on a peaceful section of the Tioga Downs backstretch. A marker with all the horse names will be erected in their memory.

This never should have happened.

And all of us should be disgusted that one worthless piece of human trash made it happen.