Barn number 50 fell to the ground at approximately 8:30 a.m. while the roof was being raised by a roof jack when the weight of the structure shifted, causing the building to collapse. The slate roof remained intact but the frame of the barn was crushed to the ground. An electrical pole was knocked down in the midst of the fall.

No horses or trainers were in the vicinity of the barn or injured.

Saratoga Springs fire and police departments responded to the scene and extracted two workers who were trapped under the roof.  Those with minor injuries were treated at the scene.

“There was chaos, but it was controlled chaos. It could have been much worse,” Assistant Police Chief Chris Cole said. “The big issue was that people were inside the barn.  One left on a stretcher with serious, but not life threatening injuries.”

All of the workers involved are trained, professional carpenters employed by New York Racing Association. They were hired to restore the barns at Oklahoma training facility which were built before World War II.

Over the past two years, monies were allocated by NYRA to fix the old barns but keep the historical nature of them intact, said grounds manager Charlie Wheeler.  He added that it will cost $50-70 thousand to rebuild barn number 50 which is located in Horse Haven at the Oklahoma track and contained 10 stalls and measured 120 feet by 25 feet. It estimated that it will be rebuilt in the next six to eight weeks.