RACING in France was dramatically stopped as horses and jockeys were pelted by “painful” hailstones.
Bad weather hit the centre of the country’s jump racing in Auteuil, Paris, during the 3.07pm contest on Saturday.
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The track was hit by a flurry of hail mid-race as wind swept in a storm as competitors crossed the obstacles in the A. Veil-picard Hurdle.
Runners were well spaced out when a warning siren indicated for jockeys to duck for cover, including British rider James Reveley.
Many clocked on to the danger they were in and immediately pulled up to get under cover as huge balls of ice began raining down.
The biblical pictures were captured live in Sky Sports TV cameras, with commentator Alex Hammond speaking about the remarkable situation.
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She said: “This is wild.
“The hailstones are absolutely enormous, that will be really painful. They look the size of golf balls.”
Leaves could be seen bombarding the race track as the jockeys ran on.
Pundit Laurent Barbarin added: “I have never seen anything like it.
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“They are trying to hide under trees, it is so dangerous.”
Local weather forecasters issued thunderstorm warnings while videos shared on social media showed water running down the streets of Paris.