Nearly 40 horses were killed and others were injured when the Lilac Fire raced through the Bonsall/San Luis Rey Downs area on December 7, 2017. Now, approximately 400 horses are returning to their previous home at the San Luis Rey Training Center. The horses have been stabled at the Del Mar Fair Grounds since the fire. Located approximately 50 miles north of San Diego, the San Luis Rey/Bonsall area has long been noted for the many Thoroughbred horses that make the area their home.
Horses and riders on San Luis Rey Track
400 Thoroughbred horses are returning to their San Luis Rey home after the Lilac wildfire forced their evacuation in December 2017.
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The Thoroughbreds compete in many local races including those at Del Mar Fair Grounds and the Santa Anita Race Track in Arcadia, California. They also compete throughout the state of California, in national competitions and some international competitions.
Grooms, trainers, owners, and horse enthusiasts are thrilled that the horses will be returning to new, refurbished, and some older stables that survived the wild fires. Many outstanding horses, including Azeri, Cigar, Sunday Silence, and Fusaichi Pegasus, have left their footprints on the San Luis Rey Downs track. For a partial list, click here.
Four Kentucky Derby winners have begun their early training at the facility (Fusaichi Pegasus, Sunday Silence, Gato Del Sol and Ferdinand). And for the recent past, there have been several graded stakes winners, including Horse of the Year Azeri, shipping out to race and returning to their familiar SLRD stalls at night.