TORONTO (AP) Thirty horses were unaccounted for and feared dead after a blaze tore through a barn complex at Woodbine Racetrack on Sunday.

Some horses were turned loose from the 126 stalls after the fire erupted. About 100 firefighters were called in as two wooden barns containing tinder-dry hay went up in smoke.

"You had the thing that scares people the most in this industry - a barn fire," said Collin Adams, vice-president of security with track owner Woodbine Entertainment Group.

Investigators were not certain late Sunday how many horses died in the blaze, but Adams said 30 were unaccounted for and feared dead.

It is hoped some may have been among those that fled after they were set free by rescuers when the blaze began.

The two barns, which housed 192 horses, were gutted. Officials say veterinary examinations may show up to 50 horses were injured.

"It's unbelievable how many horses were saved," said David Willmot, chairman of the Woodbine Entertainment Group.

Track workers, who were asleep in a Woodbine dormitory at the time, rushed to the stricken barn after smelling smoke.

As handlers struggled to free the panicked horses, some of them ran back to their stalls - which they associate with safety.

The fire was the second to hit the barn in 12 years. Fire ripped through the same H-shaped concrete-and-steel building in July 1990, killing six thoroughbreds and injuring 12 people.

Thoroughbred racing at the popular racetrack was canceled Sunday.

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