Racecourse Association condemn brawl at Haydock
Sunday 17 February 2019 22:22, UK
The Racecourse Association has "strongly condemned" the actions of people responsible for a brawl at Haydock just as the last of eight races got underway on Saturday.
Two distinct groups of men were throwing punches in among the general crowd, including women and children.
At one point, a woman clutching a small child had to be led to safety after appearing to get caught up in the fighting as dozens of men traded blows before stewards eventually brought the situation under control.
"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," the RCA said in a statement on Sunday.
"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 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."
A woman who, along with her young child, was caught up in an incident at Haydock Park Racecourse on Saturday has spoken out against the racecourse's handling of the situation.
The woman, who did not want to be named said: "No Jockey Club representatives came to see us, and moreover the first aid team did not tend to us.
"A couple more seconds and my child would have been trampled."
Haydock officials ejected the perpetrators and Merseyside Police said one man had been arrested on suspicion of affray and possession of a controlled drug following the incident.
The force also asked anyone with information about the incident to contact police.
A spokesperson for Haydock Park Racecourse said on Sunday: "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 horseracing."
