Newmarket left 'frustrated' after fighting

Newmarket managing director Lisa Hancock has described an outbreak of fighting at the track on Stan James 2000 Guineas day as “incredibly frustrating”.

Four people remain in custody following an incident on the balcony of the members grandstand, which took place as the horses were in the parade ring before the Classic and was seen by many on the racecourse before being brought under control by police intervention.

“It was a case of an argument getting out of control and clearly the main protagonists had had too much to drink,” Hancock said.

“Both the caterers and our own security staff are very vigilant to try and ensure that alcohol consumption does not get out of hand and lead to anti-social or criminal behaviour, but inevitably it is impossible for any major event organiser to prevent the occasional isolated incident.

“Fortunately such incidents are extremely rare – the four arrests made yesterday were the first here for several years for this kind of offence.

“We review our security and policing arrangements on a continuous basis and will certainly be examining in detail all of the circumstances of this incident to see if any lessons can be learned. In particular, we are sorry that so many racegoers had to witness it.

“It is incredibly frustrating that a tiny minority should have spoiled what was otherwise a sensational afternoon’s racing.”