Course chiefs promise to ban brawlers
Police arrest man after mass fight at Haydock ‘Appalling behaviour’ condemned by RCA
The violence that marred one of Haydock Park’s major jumping fixtures of the season on Saturday has been condemned by both the track and the Racecourse Association.
Before the last race, two distinct groups of around 50 men were seen throwing punches in among the general crowd. At one point a woman clutching a small child had to be led to safety after appearing to get caught up in the fighting, before stewards eventually brought the situation under control.
Haydock officials ejected a number of people from the course and Merseyside Police said yesterday that one man had been arrested following the incident, on suspicion of affray and possession of a controlled drug, although no one has been charged.
A spokesperson for Haydock said yesterday: “We are extremely disappointed by the incident, which is completely out of character with a jumps fixture in February.
“Our security teams were on hand to bring this under control and eject those involved, and we had ample security to do so.
“We involved the police, who we are continuing to work with on this matter, and those involved will be banned from Haydock Park and all other venues in our group.
“We take a zero-tolerance approach because there can be no place for this type of behaviour in British horse racing.”
A statement from the Racecourse Association said: “The RCA strongly condemns the appalling behaviour of a small group of racegoers, whose actions have taken the shine off a fantastic Saturday of racing.
“Racecourse stewards and security teams are trained to detect and close down crowd disturbances in the rare incidents when they arise, as was the case at Haydock Park.
“Police are present at race meetings across the country, where they deem it necessary, in consultation with each racecourse.
“The RCA enjoys a close relationship with the police via the Horserace Police Practitioners Forum, which enables us to share intelligence relating to events with our members.
“As the first major sporting partner of Drinkaware, the RCA and its members are committed to promoting responsible drinking and a national campaign has been activated since 2015.”
Last summer there were similar incidents at Goodwood, Ascot and Hexham in the space of a month, and racecourses subsequently implemented more stringent security measures, including the use of drug sniffer dogs.