World’s longest horse race descends into total chaos and has to be STOPPED as thousands of bemused punters watch on

What on earth?!

A difference of opinion from the jockeys in the cross-country at Le Lion d'Angers, bringing the race to a temporary halt… pic.twitter.com/SOLdMabVCx

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 18, 2023

The 4m4½f Le Lion d’angers is the longest jumps race on the planet and riders and horses have to navigate a complex path of banks, fences, hills and straights.

Everything looked to be going smoothly until half the field went right and half the field left towards the middle part of the race.

The camera panned to show the runners divided with thousands upon thousands of punters clueless as to what had gone on.

It was thought a klaxon could have sounded to tell the jockeys to pull up their horses.

Whatever happened, the race was eventually restarted where they had stopped and was won by Shawinigan for trainer Patrice Quinton.

But the talking point was the monumental gaff that sparked mass confusion.

One punter watching the chaos unfold said: “For a Listed race, this is an absolute shambles.”

Another commented: “Hahaha embarrassing.”

One Twitter post read: “How the f*** does that happen?”

Sky Sports Racing presenter Katherine Ford revealed what had actually gone wrong.

She said: “Ground staff did not remove a piece of railing making it impossible for jockeys to take the correct course.

“After several minutes of confusion the race was restarted from where jockeys pulled up.”

The testing marathon trip is two furlongs further than the Grand National.

And the style of the French race is more akin to the Cross Country Chase you see at Cheltenham than the Aintree feature.