By Friday evening, trainer Phil D’Amato had a complete checklist. D’Amato had more than 40 horses in his care at San Luis Rey Downs in Bonsall, Calif. when the training center was hit by a devastating wildfire on Thursday. It took more than a day, but all the survivors were located. D’Amato’s stable lost two horses – the unraced 2-year-old Oddsmaker and the 4-year-old filly Riri, a three-time winner in seven starts. Both were owned by the Little Red Feather Racing partnership, one of D’Amato’s leading clients. By late Friday, the worst of the ordeal was over. The stable had reformed at Del Mar, about 35 miles southwest of San Luis Rey Downs. “I’ve been to six different farms and backyards, rounding up all my horses,” D’Amato said on Saturday morning. “I was very fortunate. I did have two that died. It was smoke inhalation and trauma. The rest of them are okay, but some have nicks and cuts.” Similar to many of his counterparts at San Luis Rey Downs, D’Amato’s stable scattered as the fire unfolded Thursday afternoon. The fire arrived so quick from the northeast, fueled by winds of more than 20 miles per hour, that stable staff had no choice but to let horses out of stalls and on to the racetrack. Eight barns were lost. The California Horse Racing Board said on Saturday morning that 46 horses perished and that some remain unaccounted for. :: SANTA ANITA, THE STRONACH GROUP AND DEL MAR OFFICIAL GOFUNDME PAGE: Click here to help those impacted by Thursday's fire Thursday will be remembered by many horsemen as the worst day of their professional lives, but also for the heroic actions of scores of stable staff who made fast decisions to save the lives of the more than 400 horses based at San Luis Rey Downs. “This is about the worst any trainer has ever faced,” D’Amato said. When the threat of fire became apparent, some horses were immediately shipped out of San Luis Rey Downs before sheriff’s officials closed the adjacent roads to emergency vehicles. Around 4 p.m. on Thursday, horse vans were granted access to San Luis Rey Downs and horses were being immediately gathered for transport to Del Mar. When a van arrived, it was filled to capacity with the first horses that could be corralled. When the vans arrived at Del Mar, the identification process started. There was no time for that at San Luis Rey Downs. There was still fire in the area. Horses arrived at Del Mar all evening Thursday and into Friday. With the horses came volunteers, who donated their time and brought a massive amount of supplies, ranging from food for horses and people to clothing for grooms and hotwalkers whose residences were at lost at San Luis Rey Downs. “Hats off to the whole community,” D’Amato said. “I’ve never seen anything like it – people coming in droves to help to help our grooms and hotwalkers. Those guys lost everything in this fire.” When D’Amato toured farms on Friday, he ran into a frequent situation – he found horses from his stable, but also colleagues such as Peter Miller and Doug O’Neill, who also have large stables at San Luis Rey Downs. “The guy I feel sorry for is Pete Miller,” D’Amato said. “Every place I went Pete Miller had three here or four there. We were all calling each other, kind of helping each other out.” Del Mar’s main track was opened for limited training on Saturday morning, though D’Amato said his stable stayed in the barn and were walked. “They’ll walk for awhile to make sure their lungs are okay,” he said. Of those horses, D’Amato is in no need to rush them back into extensive training until he can assess their condition. “I had about 40 horses – young prospects and 2-year-olds coming up the ladder and older horses on the comeback trail,” he said. “There were a few – seven or eight – that were coming in and out of [San Luis Rey Downs] that were running and a lot that were close to running.” The loss of Oddsmaker and Riri were devastating, he said. Oddsmaker, by Morning Line, had not started and was rated by D’Amato, as a “very nice prospect.” D’Amato said an effort was made to save Oddsmaker by veterinarian Mike Manno. “Mike Manno was there with him for an hour giving him fluids and fluids to get his system going again,” D’Amato said. “He went above and beyond to try to help him. We couldn’t get him up.” Saturday, D’Amato’s focus was on trying to resume a normal work routine. He was on-hand at Del Mar while keeping in contact with the stable at Santa Anita. But the horror of dealing with the wildfire, and trying to ensure the safety of a large stable, is a memory that will not soon be forgotten. “I couldn’t have made up such a movie,” he said.