One Year After Tragedy, Reed Regaining Normalcy

On Dec. 18, trainer Eric Reed and his staff at Mercury Equine Center gathered and let the memory of what they wish never was wash over them once more.

They stood side by side as the tears came in honor of those lost, specifically the 23 Thoroughbreds who perished as a result of a devastating fire that hit Reed's training facility near Lexington 12 months before. Time can be a remarkable salve and in the year that has passed since every horseman's worst nightmare came to fruition, there is tangible evidence of recovery—the new barn they broke ground on a few weeks ago and the support of clients and friends, who made sure the veteran conditioner got back on his feet both professionally and emotionally.

There is no forgetting, though, nor should there be in the aftermath of such heartache. But while the pain is still present, so too is the healing that has dutifully come as a result. 

"We had a little memorial time (Monday). Everybody went down and we took some pictures and ... there were a lot of tears shed," Reed said. "It was one of those days where everyone kind of moped around. But today is a good day. It's back to normal."

A return to normalcy is about the best Reed could have wished for this time last season, when a fire—believed to have been started by lightning—broke out in a barn that mainly housed yearlings. Reed and his employees were able to save 13 of those horses, but nearly two dozen futures were claimed, in addition to everything from tack to feed tubs to hay.

In the weeks that followed, Reed and his wife, Kay, found themselves overwhelmed in both the best and worse sense. There was hard consideration given to whether Reed should continue on, given the wind that had just been knocked out of his operation. Helping to convince him otherwise was the cavalry that arrived in swift order. 

Horsemen from around the nation responded with an outpouring of aid at a rate that went above and beyond Mercury's needs. Reed's clients weren't going to let him go it alone, either, and have helped bolster his stock. He is back up to about 75 horses as he prepares to take a string to the Sam Houston Race Park meet.

"It probably took us until spring, to where we finally got enough of the stuff back and horses were coming in again, and we had gotten over the, 'I don't want to do this anymore,'" Reed recalled. "Because there was a big piece of you that says, 'This is it,' and I didn't want to go out that way. So we finally around April quit moping around so much and went through all the other stuff—the rebuilding, the deciding if we were going to put a barn up, what kind of barn, all that. We actually did start breaking ground in late November and it's coming a long really quickly.

"We had people bringing us hay from Tennessee, blankets from New Jersey. I don't want to name individuals, because I'd leave people out, but it came for weeks from people we didn't even know. It was really unbelievable. We ended up getting too much stuff, so we donated some it as well."

The hours and days after the fire were largely a blur for Reed, a process of mourning mixed in with paperwork and the crushing task of identifying the horses lost and notifying said owners. The calls that came from neighboring trainers, however, and the influx of horsemen who showed up to help bring horses to the vet and food to his staff, are a clear reminder of what the racing community is capable of in times of strife.

"I don't even remember all the things they did, but it was really special to watch how people came so quickly," Reed said. "One thing about the horse people is, when tragedy happens, we're all family."

Another reminder of the brutal kind recently hit Reed, as he—like many in the industry—tracked the news of the Lilac Fire in California Dec. 7 that tore through San Luis Rey Downs Training Center and was responsible for the deaths of 46 horses on the grounds.

"It brought back feelings I didn't even want to have again. It made me sick," Reed said.

Remarkably, the tragedies at Mercury Equine Center and San Luis Rey managed to produce a joint ambassador for the remarkable level of hope that can emerge from the worst of circumstances.

Fuega, a dark bay Union Rags  filly, was among those who survived the fire at Reed's facility—hence her moniker. In a can't-script-it twist of fate, the now 2-year-old Fuega was also stabled at San Luis Rey when that inferno happened and, again, managed to escape with no major injuries.

Though Fuega has yet to run a race, Reed is among those already deeming her something special. Like her former caretakers in Lexington, she has come through the darkest of times intact, with her future ahead of her—which is all one could ask given the circumstances.

"Is that unreal or what?" Reed said of Fuega. "I was talking to the owners, and you want to say you're lucky and unlucky at the same time. But I mean, you have to always look at it as lucky, because she's alive. 

"The things we'll do for the horse."