Thoroughbred Horses Believed Killed as Tornado Strikes Oklahoma Breeding Center

First news in tonight from the Oklahoma tornado sites is the devastating report that up to 37 people lost their lives in the Moore, Oklahoma area today when a massive tornado hit the area.

Weather radar of the storm that hit the Moore, Oklahoma area today. The death toll has risen to more than 50; 80 horses or more may have died at a Thoroughbred training center.

Tragically, horses at Celestial Acres, a 106-acre racehorse breeding and training center, were killed in the tornado. The Orr Family Farm, a public agriculture center for family education and entertainment located on the Celestial Acres grounds, was destroyed.

Some reports count the dead horses as high as 75 to 100 horses. Tony Vann, media spokesman for the farm, told The Jurga Report tonight that the number of dead horses could not be verified.

“It’s like a war zone,” he said by phone. “There’s no electricity, no cell phone reception. The only way to communicate is by texting.”

Vann said that all the employees on the farm are safe. He could not confirm what horses were at the center at the time the tornado struck, but said that they were “owned by other folks”, and not by the Orr Family.

A web search for Celestial Acres discloses that the facility had produced top-selling Thoroughbred yearlings at the Oklahoma sales and the center’s name is seen repeatedly listed as the breeder of winning horses at Remington Park.

In 2007, stallions At the Threshold, and Proper Reality stood at Celestial Acres. The center is listed as being owned by Tom Orr and located in Moore, Oklahoma.

Vann said that the farm is across the street from the elementary school that is being shown on the news tonight.

The farm will announce the status of the horses when it can be determined.

Update: An exercise rider who is a caretaker at the Celestial Acres ?farm was interviewed on local news; he said he thought that one horse survived out of about 80 that were on the farm. He describes surviving the storm huddled inside a horse stall on the news report.

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