Seven racehorses have perished after catastrophic bushfires tore through one of Australia's most celebrated racing stables, the Hayes family's Lindsay Park property in Victoria.
A Racing Dynasty Confronts Disaster
The devastating blazes, which have claimed at least one human life and an estimated 15,000 livestock across the region, have left up to 90 per cent of the 1,500-acre estate destroyed. The inferno consumed the home of trainer Ben Hayes and numerous other structures. Family patriarch David Hayes, the trainer of top sprinter Ka Ying Rising, cut short his time in Hong Kong to rush back and assist his sons Ben, JD, and Will in the desperate fight to save their horses.
The Fight to Save the Herd
In a monumental effort conducted under extreme and rapidly shifting conditions, the family and staff managed to evacuate 320 horses to safety. Tragically, they later confirmed the loss of seven animals from their care. Five active racehorses that were on a training break and two retired horses died from injuries sustained in the fire. One other horse remains in critical condition under veterinary supervision.
David Hayes described the scene as harrowing. "Friday night when the fire had actually passed and there were spotfires everywhere, all the fencing was down and horses were going in all directions in the dark," he told the SEN Track show. "Then I was seeing the odd horse that was not getting up. It was very sad." He added that horses which had survived but were too badly injured had to be euthanised the following morning.
Irrigation and Tracks Provide a Lifeline
Amid the widespread destruction, Hayes revealed that the property's innovative design helped save its core infrastructure. The irrigated paddocks and training tracks acted as crucial firebreaks, protecting the main stable complex and homestead from the flames driven by fierce winds exceeding 90km/h.
"We lost probably 90 per cent of our land, Ben's house and a barn but the majority of the infrastructure was inside the protected zone," Hayes explained. "The tracks didn't burn and they acted as great fire breaks till the wind direction changes."
He also paid tribute to the innate survival instincts of the horses, noting their remarkable calmness. "They were basically letting the fire come right up to them then jumping onto the burnt ground, just staying in a herd," he said.
The family, left "shattered" by the ordeal, fought spot fires for over two days after the main blaze passed. With roads closed, they worked in isolation to secure the property after evacuating staff and animals. The disaster underscores the severe and ongoing threat of the bushfire season in Victoria, where authorities reported at least 12 major fires were still burning as of Monday, 12 January 2026.
