AP – Authorities are investigating the deaths of over two dozen racehorses in a barn fire at an upstate New York track that they believe was deliberately set.
The horses were killed on Thursday after the barn where they were housed was set on fire, the state police said in a news release. The track is in Nichols, a town of about 2,500 people near the border with Pennsylvania and roughly 200 kilometres northwest of New York City.
A 32-year-old Pennsylvania man was charged with arson, burglary and other counts.
According to the state police, an investigation revealed that an individual entered the barn and intentionally set a fire, causing thousands of dollars in damage. The agency didn’t disclose a possible motive.
Someone who entered the burning barn to try to save horses suffered second-degree burns and was taken to Robert Packer Hospital for treatment, police said. The person’s name was not released.
