Police, sniffer dogs and four pint limit imposed at Goodwood after race brawl

Organisers at Goodwood racecourse are putting a cap on alcohol sales after a major fight broke out at the first fixture of 2018.

(Photo: George Selwyn)

Goodwood officials will enforce a ‘four pint rule at all future race meets, meaning visitors will be unable to buy any more than four drinks at retail bars on-site.

New ‘Hydration Stations’ will also be set up to encourage racegoers to stay hydrated and lower intoxication.

“We have conducted a thorough and extensive review of everything that happened at our first fixture, of our existing policies and held a detailed consultation with our Safety Advisory Group and Sussex Police,” Alex Eade, general manager for Goodwood Racecourse, told RacingUK.

Eade added that the Goodwood team will “work closely with the Racecourse Association and our other Large Independent Racecourse colleagues to ensure that we are part of the industry-wide crackdown on anti-social behaviour.”

The news comes after a brawl broke out between around 50 people on 5 May, with four people being taken to hospital, according to Sussex Police.

Sussex Police will now be present at all race meets to prevent future altercations, while drugs sniffer dogs will also be present at all fixtures. 

“We have concluded that we will make our security teams more visible, we have changed some personnel and the composition of our rapid response teams as well as taking even stronger measures to discourage drug use and excessive alcohol consumption,” said Eade.

“Sussex Police have agreed to have a presence at each of our future fixtures and we continue to work with them on deploying other covert and overt methods of deterring anti-social behaviour and drug use. We are also still helping them with their enquiries following the incident on May 5.”