A two-year-old horse named Brocklesby Bill escaped from the starting stalls at Salisbury Racecourse and galloped for three miles across fields before being caught. The horse, named after the late trainer Bill Turner, unseated his rider Ben Ffrench Davis at the start and went through the rails, leaving the racecourse.
The incident delayed the start of the race and was captured by RacingTV cameras, showing the horse escaping through a hedge and across farmland. Presenter Lydia Hislop commented on the horse's 'sense of humour', suggesting the late Bill Turner's mischievous nature may have been at play.
Trainer Kathy Turner, Bill Turner's daughter, expressed distress over the coverage, stating that the owner, who bred the horse, found it very distressing to see him filmed going through hedges and cantering across fields. She confirmed the horse was safely caught by a dog walker on a footpath after nearly three miles.
A stewards inquiry was held, and a report has been forwarded to the British Horse Racing Authority for further consideration. Bill Turner died in August at age 78 after fracturing his skull in a fall at his yard, which his daughter described as a 'freak accident'.
