Horse racing in crisis: brawls and doping scandals hit the sport

It’s been a week of shame for the global horse racing industry. A huge brawl marred the opening meeting of the season at Goodwood while in Australia five trainers and three stablehands were found guilty of doping-related offences.

The Times reports that 50 people were involved in a fight at Goodwood that left four men in hospital. Video footage posted on social media showed one man being kicked in the head. 

No one has been arrested for the brawl, but the Racing Post says that police are seeking witnesses of the incident at Goodwood and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) will pay “increased attention to crowd control and security in the future licensing of racecourses”. 

Goodwood general manager Alex Eade told the Racing Post: “It’s really bad for our sport, it’s particularly bad for Goodwood. No-one is more shocked than me because this sort of thing doesn’t happen at Goodwood.”

According to the Times, measures will now be stepped up to tackle “excessive drinking, drug-taking and other anti-social behaviour” at the UK’s racecourses. The BHA and the Racecourse Association (RCA) will review the incidents at Goodwood and sniffer dogs will be introduced at leading Flat meetings this summer.

It’s not just Goodwood where trouble has flared. There have also been incidents at Royal Ascot, Newmarket, Cheltenham and Aintree in the past 14 months, says the Times.

A BHA spokesman said: “Incidents such as those at the weekend cast the sport in a poor light and cause understandable concern. We will be writing to Goodwood to ask for their assessment of the events that occurred at their fixture on Saturday, and what steps they will take as a result.

“We will also be writing to the RCA for their views on issues regarding racegoer behaviour more generally.”

Australia’s ‘biggest’ racing scandal

Meanwhile the BBC says that the findings of a doping investigation is the “biggest scandal” to ever hit horse racing in Australia. 

ABC reports that five trainers and three stablehands have been found guilty by Victoria’s Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board of doping-related offences. The eight faced a total of 271 charges relating to more than 100 races between 2010 and 2017. 

The five trainers - Robert Smerdon, Stuart Webb, Tony Vasil, Liam Birchley and Trent Pennuto - and the three stablehands - Daniel Garland, Greg Nelligan and his wife Denise Nelligan - were linked to the now-defunct Aquanita Racing stable, the BBC reports. None of the eight had pleaded guilty.

A statement by Victoria’s Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board said the case was “probably the biggest scandal and the most widespread investigation in the history of Australian racing”.

The statement continued: “There has been dishonest, corrupt or fraudulent, improper or dishonourable actions of the highest order.”