Racing at the Cheltenham Festival has been marred by a serious injury to a jockey.
JT McNamara who was hurt in a fall during the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup.
The amateur rider was partnering Galaxy Rock for trainer Jonjo O'Neill when he crashed out at the first fence.
Medical staff were quickly on hand to treat McNamara and it was decided to transfer him to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol for further treatment without delay.
He was reported to be in an induced coma on Thursday night.
Course spokesman Andy Clifton said: "JT McNamara is being transferred to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol via air ambulance and continues to undergo assessment."
Another jockey, Davy Russell, was taken to hospital with a punctured lung, the BBC reported.
And a racehorse, Matuhi, was put down after suffering a serious spinal injury when it fell at the final fence in the Byrne Group Plate.