Nine arrested, 20 kicked out at cup Police praise punters

Alex de Vos
Geelong police have praised the behaviour of punters at Wednesday’s Geelong Cup.
Chief Inspector Wayne Carson said racegoers were generally on their best behaviour despite police laying nine arrests for offensive patrons.
Another 20 patrons were given their marching orders from Geelong Racecourse.
“They (the crowd) were drunk but reasonably well behaved,” Insp Carson said.
“Overall, we’re pretty happy. Any incident that did occur was swiftly dealt with.”
The behaviour was in contrast to last year’s cup when a violent brawl broke out in the betting ring.
About 15,000 punters braved fickle weather to witness English import Bauer gallop to glory under the guidance of jockey Damien Oliver.
The victory earned Bauer a berth in the Melbourne Cup
But not all the race-day patrons were at the cup for the horses.
Herne Hill’s Aimee Gladman had socialising in mind.
“We’re here for the fashion and champagne, lots of champagne,” Ms Gladman said.
“We’re going to have a big one.”
Newtown’s Joel Cooper was looking forward to “perving on the ladies”.
“And I’m also here to place a few bets and drink, of course,” Mr Cooper said.
Megan Reynolds, of Bell Post Hill, said she started drinking at 8.30am.
“It’s my birthday tomorrow, so I’m having a huge one,” she said.
The student praised the $25 entry fee to the cup but slammed drink prices in the general admission tents.
“The entry cost is very reasonable – I just wish the drinks were a bit cheaper,” she said.
“It should be BYO.”
Portarlington’s Kale McCain said he was using the Geelong Cup to celebrate his last day of high school.
“We’ve organised a bus to and from the races,” Mr McCain said
“I think it’s a good day to let your hair down and celebrate the end of year 12.”