With Hurricane Isabel poised to hit land late in the week of Sept. 15, Colonial Downs in Virginia has once again opened its barns to area horses that may have to seek safety from the storm.

“We’ve done this each of the past couple years, but not to this extent,” said Iain Woolnough, director of treasury management at Colonial Downs. “When I came into my office (Sept. 15), there were 28 messages on my voice mail, all regarding the stabling of horses based on projected weather forecasts