Two horses stabled at River Downs were killed on Thursday morning after being struck by a pickup truck on Route 52.

Eddie McGrath, a five-year-old horse trained by Israel Sostre, and Arrowhead Harry, an unraced three-year-old colt trained by Leroy Simon, were hit east of the racetrack. Both horses broke through their webbing in their stalls and were struck at about 2:30 a.m. EDT, the sheriff’s department said. The driver of the pickup was treated at a hospital and released.

Sostre heard the horses fighting at the end of his shedrow before they took off running and ended up on Route 52, a four-lane highway that runs along the Ohio River.

“I walked around the corner and tried to catch them, but they went flying by,” Sostre said.

Security guards also tried to stop the horses.

“We searched everywhere for them. I thought maybe they had run to the woods,” Sostre said. “Everybody was looking for them when the sheriff came and told me what happened.”

El Coqui Racing Stable owned Eddie McGrath, a career earner of $27,379 who won four of his 43 starts. The Western Miner horse was out of the winning Benefice mare Lady Anahid.