Two tragedies in the span of a week have underscored an uncomfortable truth: when society fails to provide adequate protections for horses, people often pay the price as well.

In Saratoga Springs, 17 Standardbred racehorses perished in a devastating

barn fire that swept through a racetrack stable. Three years earlier, a similar blaze at Tioga Downs claimed the lives of 30 horses. Animal welfare advocates rightly ask why, after so much loss, automatic sprinkler systems and modern fire suppression equipment are still not mandatory in every racing barn.

Horse barns are inherently vulnerable to fire. Hay, straw and wood shavings are highly combustible. Anyone involved in the equine industry understands the danger. Yet despite more than $100 million in annual taxpayer support flowing to New York’s racing industry, basic safety measures remain absent at many facilities.

The horses paid the ultimate price. Firefighters also were forced to risk their lives battling a blaze that may have been preventable.

At nearly the same time, New York City suspended horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park after a runaway horse-drawn carriage led to the death of an 18-year-old tourist from India. According to reports, the driver had stepped away to take a photograph when the horse suddenly bolted. The tragedy was the latest in a string of incidents involving carriage horses, with several accidents occurring over the past year.

The circumstances surrounding the two incidents are different, but they share a common thread: animals and people are placed at risk when safety standards fail to keep pace with known hazards.

The debate over horse racing and carriage rides often becomes emotional and ideological. But one need not oppose either activity to recognize that reasonable safeguards are overdue. Requiring sprinkler systems in racing barns should not be controversial. Neither should a thorough review of safety procedures governing horse-drawn carriages in crowded urban environments.

Those who profit from these enterprises bear a responsibility that extends beyond the bottom line. Horses are not pieces of equipment. They are living creatures entrusted to human care. Their welfare must come before tradition, convenience or economics.

Likewise, the public has a right to expect that every practical measure is being taken to protect workers, firefighters, tourists and everyone else who may be affected when something goes terribly wrong.

Seventeen horses burned to death in Saratoga. An 18-year-old young man lost his life in Central Park. These are not isolated misfortunes to be mourned and forgotten. They are warnings.

Warnings should be heeded before they become epitaphs.