SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Trade association for 59 British racecourses, The Racecourse Association (RCA) has emphasised its condemnation of antisocial behaviour at British courses.
Working alongside The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and The Horsemen’s Group, the RCA aims to best serve the interests of its 59 racecourse members, assisting them with legal, professional and technical advice as they strive to reach their goals.
Responding to the recent spate of incidents at British racecourses, The RCA has echoed the sentiment of the BHA, underlining that there’s no place for antisocial behaviour at UK courses.
“The Racecourse Association Supports all racecourses to deliver a first-class raceday experience where racegoers can enjoy a wonderful day out in safety and comfort. Unfortunately, rare incidents do occur where our sport is brought into disrepute by the poor behaviour of a very small number of our racegoers.
“All racecourses support the Pace Yourself responsible drinking campaign in association with Drinkaware and are committed to the End Your Day on the Right High initiative (illegal substance deterrent) with the Horseracing Police Practitioners Forum.”
The group continued by stating: “The RCA condemns in the strongest terms antisocial behaviour which has no place in society, let alone a racecourse. We will continue to work with racecourses and appropriate third parties to ensure such behaviour remains an extremely rare occurrence.
“The balance must be one of providing a safe environment for racegoers without impacting on the enjoyment of the day. It’s rare to see any major event in this day and age without a very high security presence which is as it should be.”
The BHA also underlined its stance on antisocial behaviour at racecourses: “The ability for racegoers to enjoy a calm and safe atmosphere at the races is of great importance, as is ensuring that the consumption of alcohol and the presence of illegal substances are properly controlled.
“While this is the raceday experience that we believe the vast majority of the 6 million people who go racing every year enjoy, the BHA has recently stated that we will add the issue of raceday security to our areas to examine in our racecourse licensing review later this year.”
