'It would have been carnage if a horse tripped': Drivers are left terrified after men are filmed HORSE RACING on a carriageway 

  • Footage, taken on a dashboard camera by Mark Johnson, shows a horse carrying a two-wheeled card running down the northbound A46's fast lane
  • Johnson said two horses were being raced against each other on Sunday
  • Johnson said the race took place at about 9am between the junction for Six Hills and the exit for Asfordby and Wymeswold 
  • He was driving behind the horses at 33mph, and a dozen cars were behind him
  • The British Harness Racing Club is investigating the incident, and the racers could face three-year bans from races and £3,000 fines

By KELLY MCLAUGHLIN FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

A man was spotted allegedly racing his horse and two-wheeled cart down a dual carriageway in Leicestershire.

The footage, taken by a dashboard camera by driver Mark Johnson, shows a horse carrying a two-wheeled card running down the northbound A46's fast lane on Sunday.

Johnson said that two horses were being raced against each other, with a second carriage on the road's inside lane.

Footage, taken on a dashboard camera by Mark Johnson, shows a horse carrying a two-wheeled card running down the northbound A46's fast lane

Footage, taken on a dashboard camera by Mark Johnson, shows a horse carrying a two-wheeled card running down the northbound A46's fast lane

Johnson said the race between two cart drivers took place at about 9am between the junction for Six Hills and the exit for Asfordby and Wymeswold

Johnson said the race between two cart drivers took place at about 9am between the junction for Six Hills and the exit for Asfordby and Wymeswold

He told the Leicester Mercury that the race took place at about 9am between the junction for Six Hills and the exit for Asfordby and Wymeswold.

Johnson, a farrier, said that the horses and carts, called sulkies, were blocking both lanes and going as fast as they could before exiting the carriageway at Wymeswold/Asfordby.

He was driving behind the horses at 33mph, and there were a dozen cars behind him, Johnson said.

'The extensive pounding on the Tarmac with no form of cushioning on their feet, means the impact on the horse is massive,' Johnson said of the race. 'The damage that is possible is phenomenal.

As the road narrowed, one two-wheeled cart got behind the other and the racers exited off the dual carriageway

As the road narrowed, one two-wheeled cart got behind the other and the racers exited off the dual carriageway

Johnson, a farrier, said that the horses and carts, called sulkies, were blocking both lanes and going as fast as they could before exiting the carriageway

Johnson, a farrier, said that the horses and carts, called sulkies, were blocking both lanes and going as fast as they could before exiting the carriageway

'One horse ended up behind the other because one had taken the lead, I was following the one furthest back, but for a good long stretch they were side by side.'

Johnson said that if either horse had tripped 'it would have been carnage', adding that the race was 'past ignorance' and 'so needless'.

Horse road racing is illegal, according to Kristy Lee, of the British Harness Racing Club.

She said that her organization is going to investigate the incident, and if the carriage drivers carry licenses, they will face three-year bans from races and £3,000 fines.

Police are also investigating the incident, and they asked anyone who had information to call 101.

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