Grand National-winning rider Ryan Mania was airlifted to hospital today after suffering a nasty fall at Hexham less than 24 hours after his Aintree triumph.
The Scotsman, who steered Auroras Encore to a famous 66-1 success at Aintree on Saturday, was linking up once again with trainer Sue Smith in the St John Lee Handicap Hurdle.
How Ryan Mania made history in the National
However, Mania's mount Stagecoach Jasper came down early on the final circuit.
Some 25 minutes after the race 23-year-old Mania was still being attended to on the track by medics.
With the covers up, there was a delay to racing following the arrival of the air ambulance.
Mania was seen being put into the air ambulance on a spinal board before being taken to hospital after what appeared to be a kick between his shoulder blades.
He was described as very sore before going to Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary for further assessment on neck and back injuries.
A spokesman for the Great North Air Ambulance said: "Mr. Mania has received neck and back injuries. He came off the horse at high speed and may have been hit by another horse while he was on the ground.
"He has been given extensive painkillers and is currently in a stable condition."
Clerk of the course James Armstrong said: "All I can say at the moment is he's conscious and talking and he is being taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle for further assessment. Hopefully all will be fine."
Armstrong later added: "His agent and his partner are with him. I know that he's had some scans and they are waiting for the results but there's no news more than that at the moment."
Earlier, the racecourse was promoting today's meeting on its website with the tag: "Grand National Winning Jockey to ride at Hexham."
Mania was scheduled to ride in two races. As well as the horse that fell, he was booked to partner Twice Lucky in the Primary Websites Handicap Chase at 4.25pm. Ewan Whillans took over the ride on Twice Lucky.
Mania is a former point-to-point rider from Galashiels in the Borders.
His fall came less than 24 hours after he became the first Scottish-born winning rider of the world-famous steeplechase since 1896, when David Campbell won on The Soarer.
After his National triumph, Mania said: "I couldn't have asked for a better ride, and the old horse was loving it as well. I couldn't believe, even at the Melling Road, that I was still there.
"I was happy to be placed at that point, and then the front two stopped and I took off in front of them - it was unbelievable."
His victory marked a dramatic turnaround in his career, which was temporarily halted when he spent six months out of racing and working in the hunt service after his former boss Howard Johnson lost his training licence.
It was Mrs Smith and her husband Harvey who got him back into racing.
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