One horse dies in Laurel Park barn fire

A fire late Wednesday night at Laurel Park in Maryland claimed the life of one horse, Pappa Portmore.

The fire started in a tack room sometime after 10 p.m. – the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department tweeted that it was responding to the fire at 10:23 p.m. – before spreading to the adjacent stall that the gelding had recently taken up residence in, having been claimed Dec. 1 by trainer Anthony Farrior. There was no structural damage to the fire-retardant barn. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

“I speak for everyone at Laurel Park and the Maryland Jockey Club when I say how devastated we all are by this loss,” Sal Sinatra, president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club, said in a release. “The safety of our horses is our priority at all our tracks. One loss is too many.”

Pappa Portmore, a 7-year-old Good Reward gelding bred in Kentucky, won 6 of 18 career starts, earning $132,430. He finished third in the 2013 Traskwood Stakes at Aqueduct. He won his final start at Laurel Park, rolling by 1 3/4 lengths as Farrior claimed him in the name of Super C Racing for $5,000.