Punters punchy at Haydock

– A woman with a toddler was among those caught up in a fight that broke out on Saturday at the UK’s Haydock Park racecourse.

The mass brawl erupted at the rails bookmakers’ ring just before the final race at the prestigious Grand National Trial meeting and at one stage 40 or 50 people were involved.

The incident happened in front of the Centenary Grandstand and spilled over on to the members' lawn, surrounding the woman who was holding her child.

A man working for one of the bookies said: “There were about 40 to 50 people involved and it got pretty nasty.

“It seems to be happening a lot and the security needs to be better.”

Another witness said: “A man bumped into another man and then it all kicked off.

“It escalated from there and people came from all directions.”

The fight follows several similar incidents on British courses in 2018, including a mass brawl at Goodwood’s opening fixture in May.

Three people were taken to hospital that day and there were similar scenes at Ascot the following week. –

London

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