Loose horse causes chaos at Stratford Races after unseating jockey and taking shock detour through packed stands, leaving punters scrambling

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A loose horse caused chaos as Stratford Races after unseating its jockey and taking a shock detour through the packed enclosure on Saturday afternoon.

Break Point, trained by Derek Shaw, set off as a 100-1 outsider in the first race of the day but quickly threw Philip Armson to the ground before fleeing.

Spectators were forced to scramble for cover after the spooked five-year-old squeezed through a gap and entered the public enclosure.

Footage recorded from inside the packed stand showed the horse trotting past shocked punters beside the betting ring at the venue.

A brave member of staff stepped in to bring an end to the situation by waving their arms and ushering the horse between the paddock and the pre-parade ring. 

Break Point is said to have jumped through a chase wing and then over a double perimeter fence after running loose with the rest of the field still on the track. 

A horse unseated its jockey and caused havoc in the public enclosure in Stratford

Punters were forced to jump out of the way of Break Point but no injuries were recorded

A member of staff ushered the five-year-old between the paddock and the pre-parade ring

According to the Racing Post, there were no injuries to either racegoers or the horse.

The stewards report read: 'An enquiry was held to consider the circumstances surrounding a loose running Break Point, trained by Derek Shaw, which had unseated Philip Armson, and had entered a public enclosure during the race.

'The clerk of the course was interviewed and shown recordings of the incident. 

'After hearing the evidence, a report was forwarded to the Head Office of the British Horseracing Authority for further consideration.'

A loose horse caused similar havoc after escaping from Musselburgh Races in Scotland last December and charging down a main road.

Clerk of the course Rory Innes said: 'It was an unfortunate incident.

'The jockey was unseated and the horse did a full circuit and escaped through the exterior permanent railing.

'The ground staff and everybody went off after the horse and he was caught by a member of the public. He stopped at some traffic lights.

'We sent the horse ambulance to bring him back, got him checked over and he was absolutely fine, as was the jockey.'