Eight jockeys had to dramatically swerve to avoid a head-on collision with an ambulance in a moment dubbed the most terrifying near miss in racing history.

The stunning incident occurred shortly after the start of a race at Evangeline Downs in the USA on Saturday night.

Typically ambulances follow the horses outside of the track in case of an emergency. However, during the contest in Louisiana shortly after 8pm last night, the vehicle found itself travelling directly towards the racers as they came around the first bend.

A video of the incident posted to X, formerly known as Twittershows the jockeys incredibly dragging their horses out of the way just moments before what would have been a head-on collision.

The race was eventually abandoned despite, luckily, none of the horses or their jockeys sustaining injuries.

The moment left pundits in disbelief, with many taking to social media to express their thoughts.

Eight jockeys had to dramatically swerve to avoid a head-on collision with an ambulance in a moment dubbed the most terrifying near miss in racing history on Saturday night

Posting a video of the race, US racing journalist Ray Paulick wrote: ‘Quarter Horse race declared no contest at Evangeline Downs. Incredible reaction by jockeys to avoid going head-first into a vehicle on the track.’

‘Am I the only one that just saw what happened in the eighth race at Evangeline? Holy Hell,’ Gabe Prewitt added.

Meanwhile describing the almost unbelievable turn of events, pundit Kevin Blake said: ‘This might well be the most terrifying near miss I’ve ever seen in a horse race.

‘It happens at Evangeline Downs in America a few hours ago. Incredible reactions from the jockeys and horses to avoid absolute carnage.’

It’s thought that Evangeline Downs officials have launched an investigation to understand just how the ambulance ended up heading towards the horses.

Share or comment on this article:
‘Terrifying’ moment jockeys swerve to narrowly avoid an oncoming AMBULANCE