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New Jersey Fire Kills 20 Horses

World record-holding pacer Cam Knows Best, the runner-up in the 1998 Little Brown Jug, was among 20 standardbred horses killed in a barn fire in central New Jersey.

Authorities said the blaze Thursday night was under investigation. The arson unit of the Monmouth County prosecutor's office is among the investigating agencies.

Timothy Hundertpfund, general manager at Gaitway Farm, believes investigators will determine fire was started by a portable, submersible water heater. One of the 2- to 3-foot electric heat coils was found at the scene.

"They must have left it in a bucket of water," he said. "The water evaporated, and the rest is history."

The farm banned the devices after a minor fire three years ago.

"It's not permitted on the farm, but it's impossible to police everything," he said.

A passing motorist, Jeff Webster, saw the flames about 10:30 p.m. Webster, who has horses at nearby Showplace Farms in Millstone, ran into the burning barn.

He got one horse out of its stall, which bolted from the barn and was later captured unhurt. But the heat kept Webster from rescuing others.

"It's the worst feeling I ever had," Webster said. "The worst thing I've ever experienced in my life."

All the other horses in that barn were killed, said Police Chief John G. McCormack.

"It's burnt right down to the ground," he said. "There's nothing standing."

The horses were in agony, his officers told him.

"It was a terrible sound. They were screaming and everything, but the heat was so intense they couldn't get up to the doors," McCormack said.

Despite subfreezing air temperatures, firefighters could get no closer than 40 yards, he said.

Investigators left the scene about 2 p.m. Friday. A half-hour later, a front-end loader was being used to scoop carcasses from the mud and ash and into a truck for disposal.

It appears to be among the worst barn fires ever, said Genevieve Sullivan, of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association.

"It doesn't happen that often, but when it does, it's a terrible tragedy," Sullivan said.

The barns are typically made of wood, and the horses are bedded on straw or wood chips, she said.

Cam Knows Best, a 5-year-old, was co-holder of the record for a mile on a five-eighths mile track, 1:49.1 on April 10 at Dover Downs in Delaware, and also set a world record of 1:58.3 for a 1 1-16 miles on the half-mile Freehold Raceway on May 22, 1999.

He had won $592,015 in 96 starts, which included 24 firsts, 18 seconds and seven thirds.

The horse raced 30 times this year, earning $126,660 with seven firsts, four seconds and one third. His finished sixth in his last race, Nov. 13 at Dover.

As a 3-year-old, the horse lost the 1998 Little Brown Jug, the second of pacing's Triple Crown events, by a head to Shady Characer.

"He was good from the moment I had him," said owner Robert Glazer of New York, who acquired Cam Knows Best as a 2-year-old. "It's really a tragedy for the sport and for humanity."

Glazer said he had given the horse a few weeks off to rest.

Glazer, whose Peter Pan Stables owns about 150 standardbreds, said the barn had held about 25 of his horses until recently, but that Cam Knows Best was the only one there this week.

The horses competed at nearby Freehold Raceway and the Meadowlands in East Rutherford.

Authorities said about 100 firefighters from seven fire companies battled the blaze.

©2000 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

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