Haydock 'extremely disappointed' by brawl as one arrest is made

Haydock has described itself as "extremely disappointed" at the brawl that broke out at the racecourse on Saturday, vowing to take a zero tolerance approach towards anyone found to have been involved in the incident – a stance supported by the Racecourse Association.

The scenes led to Haydock trending on Twitter on Saturday night and being the focus of unwanted national news coverage, including in the Sunday papers.

Stewards and security staff had to deal with a fight that involved around ten to 12 people shortly before the final race, which took place in front of the Centenary Grandstand and spilled over on to the members' lawn.

A bench was knocked over in the fight, which broke out next to the rails bookmakers.

A woman with a toddler, who revealed her identity on Twitter as Rosanna Pownall, was caught up in the melee, while another eyewitness described the scenes as "disgusting".

A woman shields her child as fighting breaks out

A Haydock spokesman 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 [Jockey Club Racecourses] group.

"We take a zero tolerance approach because there can be no place for this type of behaviour in British horseracing."

Credit: Edward Whitaker

Haydock's stance was echoed by an RCA statement on Sunday, which read: "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."

Eyewitness account

Racegoer Ian Barber witnessed the fight unfold and said on Sunday: "I follow football, rugby league and horseracing, and I've never experienced anything like that. It was quite astonishing the way it quickly spiralled.

"What started out with two guys throwing punches escalated into a number of people getting involved and the stewards were powerless really. Some of the stewards were women and you don't expect them to pull apart two guys knocking ten bells out of each other.

"The sad thing was there was a mum with a child that was caught up in it. A steward was quick to shield and protect her, and she was led out of it to safety – she must have been terrified. It was disgusting and overshadowed the day."

While the incident will not dissuade Barber from going racing again, he does think others could be deterred if there is a threat of violence occurring.

He added: "It won't put me off going racing, I'm a big lad and can look after myself, but I think it will have put a lot of people off. I'll make sure in future if I do sense an atmosphere I'll be quick to get out of the way. I want to enjoy myself in a safe environment."

Merseyside Police said that a 26-year-old man had been arrested in relation to the incident on suspicion of affray and possession of a controlled drug. He was taken to a local station for questioning.

For the freshest betting advice, based on latest going and market conditions, don't miss the Live Tipster every afternoon. Just click Raceday Live at racingpost.com or the mobile app