Two horses and jockeys had a lucky escape when a van ploughed into them minutes before a race.
The incident, at Compeigne racecourse in France, stunned TV viewers who watched the drama unfold. Remarkably one of the horses involved, Happyday, went on to win the De Beaune Handicap Hurdle.
James Reveley was in the saddle and he was fortunate not to be unshipped in the collision with the van beforehand. The jockey, who is from North Yorkshire, was cantering down to the start on the 4-1 second favourite when the vehicle appeared from behind a tree.
The horse in front of Reveley's, John Locke, was hit side on and its rider somersaulted to the ground head first. The van also crashed into Happyday before the contest, worth €59,850 to the winner.
It is understood the horses and jockeys were all unscathed.
John Locke, wearing blinkers and trained by Sophie Leech, cantered off after losing his rider in the shocking incident.
Sky Sports Racing cameras picked it up, seven minutes before post-time of the valuable contest.
Fans shared footage of the bizarre scenes on social media platforms, with one clip amassing more than 70,000 views.
One said: "Wow that's awful. How does that even happen?!" A second Twitter user commented: "Omg! This is terrible!"
And a third person posted: ""Crikey, how did that even happen? I hope they're OK?"
There were seven further races scheduled for the card at Compeigne, a figure of eight jumps track which is circled by a left-handed flat course. Racing in the area dates back to 1875 and currently the track hosts events for thoroughbreds and trotting horses.
