Horses Return to San Luis Rey After Brief Evacuation

Horses stabled at San Luis Rey Downs got a quick van ride to Del Mar and back when a fire erupted not far away from the training center but was 90% contained within 24 hours. Red flag warnings continued throughout Southern California in the aftermath of the destructive Los Angeles County fires, and out of an abundance of caution, horses were evacuated from San Luis Rey to Del Mar Jan. 21. Santa Anita Park management, which owns San Luis Rey, had evacuation plans in place, not only because of the current fires, but because of the 2017 fire that damaged barns at San Luis Rey and cost the lives of several horses. Del Mar management worked with Santa Anita, San Luis Rey, and vanning companies to bring horses to Del Mar, about 30 miles southwest of San Luis Rey, after the fire broke out. The fire eventually encompassed 85 acres a few miles east of San Luis Rey. "They moved everybody and we're heading back today," said trainer Peter Miller, who has a large contingent at San Luis Rey, midday Jan. 22. "Del Mar was very accommodating and ready, and Santa Anita was very prepared and organized." Tom Robbins, the executive vice president of racing at Del Mar, said that ultimately 230 horses evacuated from San Luis Rey to Del Mar. He said a few horses went to Santa Anita or to other nearby facilities. "We got word about 5 a.m. Tuesday about the situation at San Luis Rey," Robbins said. "We started taking horses at about 6 a.m." Santa Anita general manager Nate Newby said that all evacuation orders and warnings were lifted in the area last night and fire containment improved to 90% as of this morning. Air quality was good and horses were allowed to return Wednesday. "The firefighters did a great job containing the fire so quickly," Newby said. "Our fire marshal does regular inspections and the team at SLR does a great job clearing weeds and brush and keeping the property clean." After the 2017 fire, Santa Anita made a number of changes to reduce fire risk at San Luis Rey and make the facility as safe as possible. Those changes include the installation of sprinklers in all barns and structures on the property (a million-dollar upgrade), the addition of large fireproof containers for feed and hay storage, added fire hydrants and hoses around the property, and the removal of trees and vegetation from the property. The Del Mar team also began making plans to ready the Del Mar main track and training track for horses to use. But that turned out to be unnecessary. "We didn't know how long it was going to be, so we started getting the training track ready," Robbins said. "We can get that ready faster than the main track, in about 48 hours." Because firefighters got the blaze under control quickly, it didn't threaten San Luis Rey, and by midday Wednesday the horses were on their way back. Robbins and his crew made sure horses and personnel had food. "We had pizza yesterday and breakfast this morning," Robbins said. "As they were going out the gate, we boxed up lunches for them." Miller, who lost several horses in the 2017 fire, was relieved that the evacuation turned out to be brief and that ultimately the fire didn't threaten San Luis Rey. "It was a good fire drill," he said.