Fire killed at least 27 horses in stables adjacent to Charles Town racetrack in West Virginia on Monday.  Another 20 horses were rescued from the wooden barns that were used by trainers unable to get accommodation at the course which houses 1,350 horses.

“It was feeding time and a lot of people saw the fire going, but it all happened very quickly,” Ken Lowe, president of the Charles Town Horsemen’s Association, said.  “It could have been a lot worse if it had been windy.”

The fire did not affect Monday’s Labour Day meeting at Charles Town.  The cause of the fire remains under investigation by local officials.