No repeat of on-course fighting as racegoers enjoy Saturday action in peace

The ugly scenes which marred racing at Haydock last weekend were not repeated across racecourses in Britain on Saturday as robust crowds enjoyed the action in relative calm.

Last Saturday a 12-man brawl spilled on to the front lawn shortly before the final race at Haydock with a family, which included a woman with a toddler, caught up in the fighting which resulted in one man being arrested on suspicion of affray and possession of a controlled drug.

By contrast, one racegoer was ejected from Kempton following a minor disagreement while no crowd trouble was reported at Chepstow, Lingfield or Newcastle.

Steve Parlett, Kempton’s general manager, said: “There was an incident with a couple of groups who had a disagreement and some beer was spilled, and one person was ejected.

“We had a response team who were there and it was nothing more than that. It wasn't even a blemish; it was one idiot in 4,000. We've had a good day, crowd and racing, unfortunately there was just one idiot."

An attendance of 4,000 was reported at Chepstow as well, where extra security staff were present and the Six Nations clash between Wales and England at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was shown on a big screen in a marquee.

Racegoers watch the Six Nations clash between Wales and England

Course executive director Phil Bell said: "We have a few extra security staff dotted about the site, but historically when the Six Nations has clashed with a race meeting in the past we have not had any problems – and we hope it stays that way.

"For this meeting we have charged £10 admission as we realised it would be a real challenge to get people to come racing with the rugby down the road. It has worked out well as we have a gate of around 4,000."

The unusually mild and sunny weather on Vertem Eider Chase day helped attract a crowd of more than 3,000 to Newcastle and the meeting passed off without any incident.

The track's executive director David Williamson said: "There have been no issues whatsoever and things have gone very well.

"We're pleased with the crowd of 3,200, which is in line with our expectations with Newcastle United playing at home [against Huddersfield Town in the Premier League]. All we've done today is make our security a bit more visible."

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