Sheer Madness! Haydock bucks trend by attracting its biggest crowd for ten years

It must be love. Haydock bucked the current trend by attracting its biggest crowd in a decade for Saturday evening's meeting, which featured Madness playing after racing.

The six-race card attracted just 32 runners but there were just over 16,000 people packed into the course – at a time when attendances have been in widespread decline.

Jockey Club Racecourses north-west regional director Dickon White said on Sunday: "I think it's probably the biggest crowd we've had for ten years. There was a fantastic atmosphere round the site, everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves and it was a real pick-me-up for the team.

"As has been well documented, racecourses – like a lot of other leisure venues and attractions – have had a really tough summer, so it was great to have a night like yesterday."

White does not believe it was solely the concert after racing which engaged the huge crowd.

"The great thing for me was that a huge majority of the people came for the racing and enjoyed it," he said.

Dickon White: 'We've had Madness previously at Haydock and Aintree but this was the biggest crowd they've delivered'Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"Even though the field sizes were slightly disappointing, that didn't seem to stop them. People went home thinking, 'What a great day', and we hope they'll be back for more."

Madness have been at the forefront of the British music scene for more than 40 years, with 'It Must Be Love' among their 15 UK top ten singles, and have appeared at numerous racecourses.

"We've had Madness previously at Haydock and Aintree but this was the biggest crowd they've delivered," said White. "It shows us that racecourses can still put on a great afternoon and evening of entertainment, mixing racing with a quality music act.

"It surprised us slightly to attract as many people as we did. There are always operational challenges when you get that many people, but we put on multiple additional catering units, had multiple additional loos and everyone came together to make sure people had a fantastic time."

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