A beehive in a hedge near the walkway from the birdcage forced horses to be diverted onto the course proper to make their way to and from the mounting yard at Caulfield on Saturday.

Racing Victoria steward Allan Reardon said stewards made the decision to divert the horse traffic so that horses would be kept away from the many bees buzzing around the vicinity of the hive.

“A cameraman put a tripod down and it just stirred them up. They’ve obviously been there a long time,” Reardon said.

“We had the horses walked on to the course proper through a gate closer to the birdcage to avoid them.”

There were no reports of any people or horses being stung.