28 racehorses killed in upstate stable blaze

A raging blaze killed 28 harness-racing horses early Saturday at an upstate training facility.

A heartbroken worker told The Post how he listened helplessly to the horrifying cries made by the horses trapped in their barn.

“They were crying like babies. They are like humans . . . This is killing me,” said the worker, who identified himself only as Saur.

“We could not save one horse,” Saur said. “They are all dead.” The fire broke out at around 3 a.m. at the 63-acre Mount Hope Training Center in Orange County.

The horses had been brought back to the grounds at about 1:30 a.m. after racing in the Poconos.

“The guy got up to feed them in the morning about 3 o’clock,’’ Saur said.

“He saw half the barn on fire.

“He came back and shouted, ‘Fire! fire!’ and ev- erybody was running to help to save the horses.

“By three seconds, it just [went] poof,” he said, throwing both hands in the air.

“The whole barn caught fire.”

Dean Eckley, one of the trainers who lost horses in the fire tragedy, said no people were in the barn at the time and no one was injured.

The Mount Hope Training Center is located 70 minutes from the Meadowlands Racetrack and Yonkers Raceway and about 30 minutes from Monticello Raceway.