The leading jockeys, Frankie Dettori and Ray Cochrane, had an amazing escape yesterday after their light aircraft crashed and burst into flames moments after take-off, killing the pilot and injuring both men.
Dettori and Cochrane, who are two of Britain's best-known jockeys, were last night being treated at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. Both escaped through the luggage compartment, but were unable to save the pilot because the aircraft burst into flames.
Dettori, who was due to race in the Derby in two weeks' time, fractured his right ankle and damaged a thumb. Cochrane, who was born in Co Down, suffered minor burns and was last night undergoing further tests.
The crash happened shortly after 12.30 p.m. as they left Newmarket racecourse for Goodwood in West Sussex, where they were to have taken part in a meeting yesterday afternoon.
Insp Steve Brown of Suffolk police said: "It would certainly seem to be a miracle that anyone got out of it alive."
The crash is the third involving sports stars in the last six months, raising concerns over the safety of private aircraft.
Last year the golfer Payne Stewart and four others were killed in a Learjet crash in South Dakota. Last month the Grand Prix driver David Coulthard and his fiancee, Ms Heidi Wichlinski, escaped with minor injuries after their Learjet crashed in France. Both pilots died.