Officials at Churchill Downs–home of the famed Kentucky Derby–confirmed June 23 that no horses or humans were injured the previous evening when a tornado ripped through a portion of the stable area at the historic Louisville, Ky. racetrack.

"The miracle is that no one was hurt and we are very, very happy about that," track president Kevin Flanery said during a press briefing. "We have 1,500 people living on the backside, and last night they were struck with something that nobody wants to go through, and they handled it calmly and professionally. We are very, very lucky we are here today to just look at damage to some buildings. Buildings can be rebuilt."

John Asher, vice president of communications for the track, said nine barns have been ordered evacuated by fire department officials until their status can be evaluated. The 150-200 horses that were housed in those barns were relocated throughout the night after the tornado struck at about 8 p.m. EDT.

Many were taken to empty barns at other areas of the track, and some were relocated to nearby farms or training centers, though movement of traffic out of the track the evening of June 22 was limited due to storm damage