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Been to Newbury today and was shocked at some of the behaviour with people taking the Racecourse for a Football ground. I am more and more convinced that people only going for a piss up and wouldn’t even know that there was horses running. There was blokes jumping over the fence to where the horses galloped up to the 6 and 5 furlong start and also numerous people smoking inside the grandstand with all things branded about like " shoot the fecking thing ya basterd "
Rant over
I went to the corresponding meeting three years ago, and it seems things haven’t changed.
I’m as concerned as anyone else about bad behaviour in public; but I have a question.
In Summer, when people misbehave at cricket they’re often identified as ‘football supporters.’
In Summer, when people misbehave at racing they’re often identified as ‘football supporters.’
Is there any chance whatsoever that the people causing trouble at racing are…..(drum-roll please) HORSE-RACING FANS?
I know, it’s a somewhat unorthodox view, but hey, let’s be open-minded!
Strangely enough, myself and two colleagues were today discussing how much more pleasant Newbury is than places like Sandown due to their being far less yobbish and drunken behaviour there.
One thing Newbury has got right is to stick to the old rules of not allowing drinks out of the stands – the relaxing of these rules, we were discussing today, has led to the massive increase in drunken behaviour on the racecourse. At Sandown and Newmarket, for example, you can take drinks anywhere and beersellers with rucksacks on containing either cans of lager or keg from which they can despatch draught beer wander through the crowds selling to them.
Compared to many other tracks, Newbury generally does well with its behaviour and I certainly didn’t witness anything today (nor have I at Newbury for a long long time) that constituted loutish drunken behavour – certainly nothing like that which you get at places such as Sandown, Newmarket, Chester, Bath, Chepstow, Aintree, Wincanton and others.
The only trouble I was aware of at Newbury today was the lads on the Paddock View Patio playing drinking games and singing which was amusing more than anything. I did hear someone on the O&T/Members’ Stand saying something about a fight breaking out but I didn;t see anything.
I must say I thought it was generally quite a nice crowd at Newbury today although I was only in the paddock and trackside…I didn’t venture in to the bars. And a good turnout as well…
I think it would be pretty much impossible for racecourses to rout out loutish behaviour completely. The more they try to convey a party atmosphere to attract more punters the more people will treat it like a party. I think it is a very unfortunate by product of the marketing tactics that racecourses have had to employ of late.
Goodwood used to be a place where no one could take a drink outside the bars. They used to have a securitys guard to prevent this.
Now anything goes!
One just has to sit or lay on the grass and in less than a minute a girl will ask you if you wish to purchase a pint of beer from her.
They carry a large beer container on their backs and plastic glasses on the side of them and feed the beer into the glass by means of a pipe with a tap on the end.
A minute later the Tote girls will offer to take your bet for you, if and when the nag wins they return the winnings.So no need to even move to an inch get a bet on and to get steaming drunk. If your lucky you can see some horses in the winners enclosure and the parde ring.
This suits a lot of people so that is why they do it.
I agree with Lekha,
I too was at Newbury and did not see anything other than a few loud voices coming from high up in the members stand. Thought the tatts punters were well behaved. Though may have missed something.
Mark
Value Is EverythingI am afraid violence will always follow where drink is on sale. I have witnessed violence on racecourses as far back as 1987 (Kempton flat meeting in the evening), though I am sure it went on before then.
Its no big deal. It happens, and always has. Get over it.
So that makes it OK then does it?
Strangely enough, myself and two colleagues were today discussing how much more pleasant Newbury is than places like Sandown due to their being far less yobbish and drunken behaviour there.
Absolute rubbish IMO. I have always found Newbury (and i do like it there) more edgy than Sandown
One thing Newbury has got right is to stick to the old rules of not allowing drinks out of the stands – the relaxing of these rules, we were discussing today, has led to the massive increase in drunken behaviour on the racecourse
Dont agree with that at all. I have found it no different than from before.
Frankly the ugliest meeting i have been to is Royal Ascot
Firefox is right (for once). This isnt anything new.
Its not a sport problem its a society problem.
The UK is too lIberal the politicians are clueless they create the problems then don’t have the first idea how to solve them. Of course in truth they’re not really bothered they care simply about feathering their own nests.
This is a problem within racing that I can see getting worse. Racing needs to attract non racing people to its meetings so bars are going to be an obvious attraction. One problem is there is too much racing too many meetings that need funding. Less meetings = less neccessity to attract non racing folk.
In broader terms people need to have respect – for themselves and for other people and a fair proportion of people don’t. This stems from childhood right through to adulthood. Discipline has been taken out of schools, there are too many teenage pregnancies and people having children that are not fit to in that they are incapable of raising them sufficiently.
Answers :
1) Ignore (preferably string up) do gooding, bleeding hearters
2) Break free from Europe and its meddling in UK laws
3) Bring back the cane in schools
4) Introduce an education programme based on behaviour, decency and respect
5) Prosecute parents that cannot control their children
6) Bring back national service.None of it is impossible but it is while wh have to put up with parties that are selling the country down the river. Until this country has a complete transformation in its politics it is going to remain in a mess. Once were fully in the grip of Europe we’ve had it. The country has been let go to rack and ruin over the last 50 years or so to the point now where such awful behaviour is seen as a way of life (see Firefox’s comments). It says a lot about the mentality people have now that violence and drunken loutishness is seen as (almost) acceptable and it isn’t seen as the embarassment it should be.
I’m as concerned as anyone else about bad behaviour in public; but I have a question.
In Summer, when people misbehave at cricket they’re often identified as ‘football supporters.’
In Summer, when people misbehave at racing they’re often identified as ‘football supporters.’
Is there any chance whatsoever that the people causing trouble at racing are…..(drum-roll please) HORSE-RACING FANS?
I know, it’s a somewhat unorthodox view, but hey, let’s be open-minded!
No because if they were HORSE RACING FANS they would show more interest in the HORSE RACING than in the drinking and loutish behaviour. The parade ring several times yesterday was treated to football songs from a group of drunken w4nkers, situated in the open air drinking area at the side. The corner of the drinking enclosure just past the winning post was populated by a group of young girls and boys who were thoroughly drunk and would have been ejected from many pubs for their behaviour. Many people walking past with children were quite upset by this group. They showed not a flicker of interest in the racing going on behind them.
Join me at Flemington for Derby Day or Moonee Valley for the Cox Plate meeting – we horse enthusiasts and purists are a dying breed. Almost extinct.
It’s all about sinking alcoholic fluid, looking sexy (read tarty) and yuppies acting as if they’re iconic amongst the crowd.
I only attended Derby Day out of all the four major days of the carnival because of this. It was simply not worth it.
Seems all the trouble is at the Southern tracks – people complain about places like Haydock but there’s no fighting or abuse of jockeys, horses etc.
Let’s make the Southerners stick to lager-shandy
As someone who used to be a football fanatic i now hate the game because the morons in the crowd spoil it for decent supporters who ar now being outnumbered by the morons you only have to stand outside a football stadium when they are come out to tell you every thing you need to know about society and it is now spilling over into racing a sport i love where of course there is access to drink and any one can behave like an idiot when they have had to much i have to say i dont know the answer i am not clever enough,could some of forum members tell me what they think of the activities after racing rock bands etc do they think it brings people in who are interested in racing
Seems all the trouble is at the Southern tracks – people complain about places like Haydock but there’s no fighting or abuse of jockeys, horses etc.
Let’s make the Southerners stick to lager-shandy
Come on Irish – York? Chester? both have serious problems with drunk racegoers.
I was at York last week and saw no trouble at all, not being able to take alcohol past certain points helps there though I suppose.
I think it is just a widespread problem though and it annoys me when people refer to anyone who causes the slightest bit of trouble as ‘football fans’. Well I’m a football fan, a boxing fan, a horse racing fan and a rugby league fan (all sports which are seeing more and more unsavoury incidents) and I’ve never caused trouble anywhere I’ve ever been.
It’s not the ‘football fans’ It’s just a general problem which is worsening all the time. We all have to either live with it and accept things getting worse, or do something about it. What that is though, I don’t know?
Drunken, sometimes violent behaviour has been part of British culture for hundreds of years. It has nothing to do with politicians, Europe, do-gooders, the high price of oil, the 1960s or anything else and it isn’t getting worse. You can find reports of alcohol-fuelled violence and public disorder going back hundreds of years, at football and cricket matches, at village celebrations, pretty much anywhere where a crowd of people gather together and consume too much alcohol.
The only way to prevent it at sporting occasions is to ban alcohol. If venues/racecourses/football stadia are not going to do this, then it will occur.
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