The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A barn fire killed seven horses worth more than $1 million, authorities said.
The fire early Friday destroyed the 12-stall barn at Hipp Farm, a division of Clifton Farm, in Lexington. Calhoun Clifton, the 23-year-old daughter of the farm’s owner, said among the horses killed in the blaze were champion saddlebred Chat and Maui Girl, one of the first saddlebreds to be sold for more than $1 million.
Maui Girl was the dam for My Chanel, the winner of the Ladies Five Gaited Gelding Stakes.
“We never even considered putting a price on them, and that is pretty rare for our family because this is what we do for a living,” Clifton said. “They have just been a part of this family for as long as we have had them. There is no amount of money we would have ever sold them for.”
The cause of the fire was under investigation, fire officials said.