Violent scenes marred the opening meeting of the season at Goodwood as brawls between racegoers broke out on a garden area behind the course’s Gordon Enclosure.
In a statement on the events, Goodwood Racecourse said:
“The incident was dealt with by on-event security and Sussex Police were notified as a precaution.
On-event medical staff treated six people and the Racecourse is supporting Sussex Police with its ongoing enquiries.”
Further reports have emerged to suggest that three people had to be taken Chichester’s nearby St Richard’s Hospital with injuries sustained in the fracas.
Video footage of the events have since been widely circulated on social media and, in one particularly brutal clip, an individual can be seen kicking a man in the head while he lay motionless on the ground before fleeing.
Further skirmishes then break out between groups of men as stewards meekly attempted to regain order.
This incident will be unwelcome to the PR representatives of the flat racing business, with their marketing of Saturday racing as an inclusive, fun day out being somewhat undermined by the actions of a few.
Long-running debates over drinking culture at racecourses and resulting public order problems have resurfaced and are unlikely to go away as the young flat season continues.
Witnesses to the scenes have retold their accounts readily and paint a picture of a breakdown in public order and more general disarray at the West Sussex course.
Watch the gut-wrenching incident below should you wish, but - fair warning - it may be upsetting to some viewers.
