EUREKA ? A barn fire at Eureka Downs racetrack early Sunday killed about 40 quarter horses, most of them 2-year-olds training to race.

Only one horse, 5-year-old Smart Effort, survived the fire, said Dick Clasen, vice chairman of the management committee for the racetrack. The horse’s condition wasn’t available Sunday night.

The Kansas fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, said Marvin Wheat, Eureka assistant fire chief.

The 90-stall barn, which was built in 1989, was worth $79,000. But Clasen said it would take days to determine the total loss because of equipment in the barn and the value of each horse.

“It’s devastating. It makes you cry thinking about the lost horses,” Clasen said. “It’s tough for the horse industry.”

Races are held at Eureka Downs from May to July, but it serves as a year-round training facility.

It is owned by the Greenwood County Fair Assn.

The barn was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived and the horses died before the fire could be slowed, Wheat said.

It took about three hours and three fire engines to put the fire out, Wheat said.