Racing:Investigations are on-going into the incident at Newbury racecourse yesterday which saw two horses die. Fenix Two and Marching Song were about to be mounted by their jockeys in the parade ring when they fell to the ground and died.
Speculation from the connections of the stricken horses was that they may have suffered from some form of electric shock and while it has not yet been confirmed as the definite cause, an underground cable has been found.
Speaking today, British Horseracing Authority chief executive Nic Coward said: "This was a tragic incident and our thoughts have to be with the connections.
"Once the incident had taken place racecourse officials got together with trainers, jockeys and owners and I think in difficult and freakish circumstances, they had some difficult decisions to make and made the right ones.
"Obviously Newbury are still in close contact with investigators they have there carrying out inspections, trying to work out what really happened.
"It is premature to describe in detail what happened because that would be speculation, but fingers are being pointed at some kind of electrical fault. Post-mortems are also being carried out.
"I think we should stress that racecourses have a very strong track record of dealing with all of these issues at the track in the interest of welfare - the horse, the jockey, trainers, owners and the customer.
"Racecourses are doing all they can and at the moment I think we should look at this as a bizarre moment that people who have been around racing for decades and decades have never seen the like.
"Courses are very vigilant and owners and trainers are very vigilant always. People across the country have seen this happen and their feelings will be for the connections of the horses."
Rumours of horses suffering burn marks were rife, but BHA media relations manager Paul Struthers said no trainer, jockey or vet had mentioned such damage during the official inquiry.
Marching Song's trainer Andy Turnell admits the five-year-old's death is a huge blow for everyone at the yard.
"Everything seemed to be going normally and when I went to saddle Nick Scholfield on to him he just sidestepped and then seemed to freak out," said Turnell.
"There was a horse behind me doing the same and I thought he was just reacting playfully, but it soon became apparent that wasn't the case. He went down and to my mind I thought he'd suffered a heart attack. It was bizarre and I've never seen anything quite like it.
"When I realised the other horse had gone down behind him I obviously realised there was more to it than a heart attack. There was obviously something going on.
"My head travelling lad, Colin, held the horse's head and said he felt some form of electricity through his head. The horse suffered slightly but he was dead within 30 seconds. It was very quick.
"I understand that horses are much more susceptible to electric shocks than we are and they wear steel plates on their feet for racing. We're a very small yard and he was one of our best horses, so it's very disappointing.
"But racing has its ups and downs and that's life. We just have to get on with it, but obviously the lads at the yard are upset. It's quite extraordinary and I've never seen anything like it before. I suppose you've got to be pleased more horses weren't stricken.
"Once they were off the walkway they seemed to be all right. It was just a tragic accident."
Meanwhile, Nicky Henderson believes his horse Kid Cassidy is "extremely lucky" to have escaped death. Kid Cassidy recovered after briefly collapsing but was withdrawn at the start of the Novices' Hurdle
"It was something that none of us have ever seen before and we hope never to see again," Henderson said. "Kid Cassidy was just walking round and went over on to the grass and knuckled over for a second.
"It does appear it was to do with electricity and underground cables and obviously nobody knew it was there.
"It was one of the most traumatic five minutes I think one can ever go through. This game that we're in is all about horses and everybody loves horses.
"I think they suffered little. There was a brief moment when they staggered around and then they were on the ground and they died. I think our horse was extremely lucky as he definitely got the effect of it.
"One realised shortly afterwards what had happened to him and he was probably lucky enough to get back on the rubber walkway and he actually had a different type of shoes on to the other horses. It was horrific."