Irish jockey Rob James has apologised for his "stupidity" after a video of him mounting a dead horse emerged on social media.
The video shared widely on Twitter shows James astride a dead horse, with a crane in the background - presumably waiting to lift the horse.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board confirmed it was "aware of further social media content circulating" and that it was investigating the matter.
In a statement Wexford rider James confirmed that the video is of him and he apologised for the embarrassment caused to his employers and his family.
"I have become aware of a video circulating of me on social media. I would just like of apologise for my actions which were wholly inappropriate and disrespectful to a lovely five-year-old mare, who unfortunately suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while at exercise earlier that morning, April 30th, 2016.
"I sincerely apologise to the owners of the mare, the staff who cared for her, the horseracing industry and all followers of horse racing for my actions.
"To try defending my stupidity at the time would add further insult and hurt to the many loyal people that have supported me during my career. I have caused embarrassment to my employers, my family and most importantly the sport I love."
The release of the video came in the wake of an investigation into an image that emerged of trainer Gordon Elliott sitting on a dead horse.
The image, which was widely shared on Twitter at the weekend continues to be investigated by the IHRB and Elliott has spoken about an "indefensible moment of madness" in relation to the picture.
Gigginstown House Stud, who announced on Monday that they will continue to support Elliott, also confirmed that it was one of their horses, Morgan, in the offending image. The seven-year-old died of a heart aneurysm in 2019.
Elliott will not be permitted to have runners in Britain until the conclusion of the investigation, however the British Horseracing Authority has confirmed that it will allow the trainer's horses to run in Britain if transferred to another trainer.
