The Times/Mark Souster: Racing takes measures to tackle violence after 50-man brawl at Goodwood

Wednesday May 9 2018
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Racing takes measures to tackle violence after 50-man brawl at Goodwood
Mark Souster, Racing Writer

May 9 2018, 12:01am, The Times
Disturbing footage on social media showed a man being kicked in the head
Disturbing footage on social media showed a man being kicked in the head
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Measures to tackle excessive drinking, drug-taking and other anti-social behaviour will be stepped up at Britain’s racecourses after a brawl involving 50 people at Goodwood on Saturday left four men in hospital.

Sniffer dogs will be introduced at leading Flat meetings this summer, and crowd control and security levels are being reassessed to tackle the sort of trouble that has blighted racing in the past year. “The incident over the weekend clearly has absolutely no place in society, let alone on a racecourse,” Stephen Atkin, chief executive of the Racecourse Association (RCA), said.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), the RCA and Goodwood have all announced reviews of the issues, as well as of the fight last Saturday, which was captured on social media. It showed a man being kicked in the head while lying on the ground. No one has been arrested but Goodwood is working with Sussex police to identify those responsible.

Trouble has flared at Royal Ascot, Newmarket, Cheltenham and Aintree over the past 14 months, sometimes after all-day drinking sessions have spilt over into evening pop concerts that are increasingly popular as courses strive to increase revenues. Saturdays and summer festivals have been particularly prone to problems.

The RCA announced the introduction of sniffer dogs last month as part of an “end your day on the right high” campaign. “We wanted to be proactive in terms of drugs,” a spokesman said. “Drink and drugs often do go hand in hand. It’s a preventative measure.”

Racecourse behaviour and crowd safety were serious issues, a BHA spokesman said yesterday: “Incidents such as those at the weekend cast the sport in a poor light and cause understandable concern.

“We will be writing to Goodwood to ask for their assessment of the events that occurred at their fixture on Saturday, and what steps they will take as a result. We will also be writing to the RCA for their views on issues regarding racegoer behaviour more generally.”

Crowd control, security and alcohol policies are the responsibility of the racecourse and the RCA. But this year the BHA announced a review of licensing procedures for participants and racecourses, a process that will be given added impetus by recent events.

Last summer a Little Mix concert at Newmarket and a gig by Craig David at Lingfield led to serious problems, including overcrowding and fighting. A man was attacked with a bottle at the 2017 Grand National and a brawl erupted in the picnic area at Royal Ascot this time last year. A man’s eye socket was fractured after the Gold Cup at Cheltenham in March.
Goodwood has pledged to review its security arrangements after the disturbances
ALAN CROWHURST/GETTY IMAGES

Goodwood has pledged to review its security arrangements. It played down criticism of a lack of security staff and a slowness to respond to the incident.

In a letter to the Racing Post, a racegoer who attended with his five-month-old grandchild said: “There was one security guard observing the fight from a distance, with many people asking the obvious question, ‘Where were the security or police?’ ”

Alex Eade, Goodwood’s general manager, said: “I hope it was just a nasty, one-off incident. It was absolutely unacceptable behaviour. It’s really bad for our sport, it’s particularly bad for Goodwood. No one is more shocked than me.”

Sussex police are appealing for witnesses after what they called “multiple altercations” at the racecourse.

•The future of Steve Harman as chairman of the British Horseracing Authority is to be decided today in London. Harman is reportedly set to face a vote at an extraordinary BHA board meeting in London today after allegations about his conduct had been aired.

It is understood that the board will decide under Article 51 of the BHA’s constitution whether Harman has acted in a manner that could or has brought racing into disrepute. It is unclear whether Harman who has employed a leading law firm will attend the meeting.

The Times revealed that Harman who has been in post for five years had been questioned about various matters at the most recent board meeting in April.

It follows meetings he had at the Cheltenham Festival.

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