The loss of 43 racehorses in a Jan. 4 fire at a multi-million-dollar stable and training facility in Puslinch, Ont. has left owners and trainers in mourning.
"These horses are part of your life, rather just a commodity that you ... you go and work with every day. They're more than that," Ben Wallace told a reporter. "So you go and identify 44 family members. Can you imagine?"
"I've lost everything. I mean, I've lost everything as far as my occupation, which I've been doing for 45 years, is gone. I don't have so much as a stopwatch anymore."
Wallace owned, or partially owned, 12 of the 17 horses he trained, all of which died in the fire.
Among the horses Wallace lost was Apprentice Hanover, a standardbred harness racer that was a star of the stable.
"He won his last start for us and he went over a million dollars in doing it," Wallace added. "You just don't find those situations, you just don't get those horses anymore so … you never get a second chance."
Guelph, Ontario, Fire Department Deputy Chief John Osborne said firefighters from the all-volunteer Puslinch Fire Department found the single-story metal barn fully involved.
Additional departments were called to protect nearby buildings.
