Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

$80,000+ Donated to Lebanon Fire Victims

January 4, 2010

Organizers say more than $80,000 has been donated to two funds set up to help horsemen who lost their livelihood in the tragic fire that killed two men, 45 horses and razed Barn 16 at the Warren County Fairgrounds on Dec. 5. Donations have come from Maine to California from people in the horse and racing industry.

Approximately $36,000 has been disbursed from a local fund set up at LCNB National Bank to 11 trainers affected by last month’s fire, said Susie Wilson, vice president of racing and simulcast at Lebanon Raceway.

Wilson said the money was distributed before Christmas and more money may have come in, but she was unsure of that amount. A Dec. 19 fundraiser at the track raised about $11,000, according to Wilson.

The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association in Columbus also has set up a fund. General Manager Jerry Knappenberger said the association’s fund has collected 91 donations worth $46,185 and another $31,000 is guaranteed.

“The horse industry, while we compete on the race track, there is a camaraderie where they want to help,” Knappenberger said. “It’s been amazing; money has come from coast to coast.”

The local funds aren’t going to horse owners unless they also lost their jobs in the fire, said Wilson, who added none of the money is going to the race track.

“We set up this account to help the horsemen. It’s people trying to do right thing to help other people,” Wilson said.

Knappenberger said his association plans to convene a committee that will be tasked with doling out the money. Both owners and trainers will likely receive funds so they can rebuild their stables and replace equipment and get racing again.

Two grooms lost their lives in the fire. The bodies haven’t been positively identified yet, but Doyle Burke, chief investigator with the Warren County Coroner’s Office, said investigators are 99 percent sure the men were Ronnie Williams of Lebanon and James “Turtle” Edwards of East St. Louis, Ill.

“You don’t want to make a misidentification,” Burke said. “You know it’s them but you’ve just got to be sure.”

Dental records couldn’t be used, so the coroner’s office had to resort to DNA testing, which takes four to eight weeks. Burke said they can’t release the remains to their families until they have a positive identification.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation and it is going to be a while before a definitive cause is known, said Ohio State Fire Marshal spokesman Shane Cartmill. Wilson said the mood around the track is still somber.

“Things are starting to get back to normal,” she said. “There are some people involved that still can’t be here. But some are trying to get back in the swing of things.”

Kathy Prickett, owner of the Track Kitchen, described some of the grooms and owners as still “lost.”

“People who lost one (horse) or so are doing better,” Prickett said. “Some had a lot tied up in those horses and they are still hurting.”