'I feel like I've been hit by a bus': Jockey Ben Curtis 'relieved' as he walks away unscathed after mid-race horror fall (VIDEO)

Jockey Ben Curtis is thanking his lucky stars after miraculously escaping without serious injury after a potentially nasty incident at Tuesday's race meeting in Wolverhampton which saw him trampled after he came off his horse.

Curtis was described as "superhuman" by racing fans on Twitter after announcing that he was uninjured after both he and rival jockey Rob Hornby came off their horses, with Curtis' fall looking particularly nasty as he was tossed around the track "like a rag doll". 

Curtis, a professional flat jockey, was seen in footage of the accident being airborne for several meters before miraculously rising to his feet apparently largely uninjured.

TV viewers were left with with their hearts in their mouths after Curtis was caught in a pack on his horse Fortultous during the final bend on the the 5.30 Betway Casino Handicap.

"I feel like I've been hit by a bus this morning," said Curtis. "I'm just battered and bruised really but I'm back home after going to hospital last night. I'm going to be checked over at Jack Berry House today.

"I feel pretty good considering. It was as nasty a fall as you'll probably see on the all-weather so for me, Rob and the horses to come back safe and sound is probably a bit of a miracle.

"The horse came out in front of me as I switched out to chase the winner. The medical team were great and had me on oxygen straight away. I'm so grateful to them and for everybody wishing me well."

Hornby, who was also unseated, said that it was a "blessing" that he did not receive more severe injuries. 

"I'm going to visit the physio and have a few days off," said Hornby. "Luckily I stayed conscious so I remembered it all. Ben took a bad slap and was unconscious for a bit. Luckily we walked away from it.

"Nine times out of ten you get away with it if horses clip heels like that. The race was just starting to develop when my horse stumbled and pulled me over its head. Thankfully the horses were fine too."

The reactions of both Curtis and Hornby were mirrored online by racing fans, many of whom had feared the worst after witnessing the potentially serious accident on the television broadcast.

"How is Ben Curtis standing after that," wrote one. "Jockeys are actually incredible." Another racing fan wrote that it was "one of the worst falls I've seen".

"Jockeys are different level, how on earth is Ben Curtis sitting up after that fall? Made of steel," wrote another.

Per a recent study, professional horse racing remains one of the most dangerous sports on earth with a 2013 study estimating that there are just under two deaths per every 1,000 falls. What marks the above incident as unusual, however, is that it came on a flat race - as the majority of injuries associated with the sport come on jump races.