Racecourse Association strongly condemns men involved in mass brawl at Haydock races

During the fight - which was caught on camera - two groups of men were seen throwing punches in among the general crowd, including women and children.

At one point a woman clutching a small child had to be led to safety after appearing to get caught up in the fighting as dozens of men traded blows before stewards eventually brought the situation under control.

Since the incident, the RCA has condemned the behaviour of those involved.

A spokesperson said: "The RCA strongly condemns the appalling behaviour of a small group of racegoers whose actions have taken the shine off a fantastic Saturday of racing,"

"Racecourse stewards and security teams are trained to detect and close down crowd disturbances in the rare incidents when they arise, as was the case Haydock Park.

"Police are present at race meetings across the country where they deem it necessary in consultation with each racecourse.

"The RCA enjoys a close relationship with the police via the Horserace Police Practitioners Forum which enables us to share intelligence relating to events with our members.

"As the first major sporting partner of Drinkaware, the RCA and its members are committed to promoting responsible drinking and a national campaign has been activated since 2015."

Haydock officials ejected the perpetrators and Merseyside Police said one man had been arrested on suspicion of affray and possession of a controlled drug following the incident.

The force also asked anyone with information about the incident to contact police.

Related link: Man arrested following mass brawl at Haydock racesA spokesperson for Haydock Park Racecourse said: "We are extremely disappointed by the incident, which is completely out of character with a jumps fixture in February.

"Our security teams were on hand to bring this under control and eject those involved, and we had ample security to do so.

"We involved the police who we are continuing to work with on this matter and those involved will be banned from Haydock Park and all other venues in our group.

"We take a zero-tolerance approach because there can be no place for this type of behaviour in British horse racing."