Tornado Hits Tampa Track; 3 Horses Die

Three horses had to be destroyed because of injuries after a tornado struck Tampa Bay Downs race track, track officials said Sunday.

Track publicist Tod Wojciechowski said one horse was hurt when a wall collapsed on it and the others were struck by flying debris.

“We had close to 1,400 to 1,500 head of horses, so we consider ourselves extremely lucky,” Wojciechowski said. “It’s sad when you have to consider that lucky. Fortunately, there were not many people there at the time.”

Wojciechowski said a groom was injured when a tornado struck the barn area about 10:30 p.m. EST Saturday. William Edwards was taken to Town & Country Hospital, where he was listed in serious but stable condition Sunday.

Seven barns were hit, including two that might not be salvageable, he said. All seven lost parts of their roofs.

Wojciechowski estimated repairs would cost “well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Sunday’s races were canceled but racing was expected to resume Tuesday, the next scheduled day.

Backstretch employees spent much of Saturday night and Sunday cleaning up the debris.

“The camaraderie that was displayed by all the horsemen coming to the aid of the people whose stables were hit, it was an unbelievable effort,” Wojciechowski said. “All the jockeys, the horsemen, the trainers and so on pitched in.

“A lot of the local horsemen who have farms in the area have donated stall space. Others have volunteered to haul the horses in trailers. They really have come to each other’s aid extremely well.”

The track was built in the 1920s and is owned by Stella Ferguson Thayer.