This spring's Foxfield races may be a tamer than previous years because of punishments handed down Jan. 31 to the Foxfield Racing Association by Virginia's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
After months of investigation, Foxfield's liquor license was put on probation for three years and the association was fined $8,000 for the cost of the investigation.
"Basically, probation is a red flag that a particular licensee has violated the law," ABC Public Relations Specialist Greg Bilyeu said. "It's a chance for the licensee to correct whatever problems were identified."
The identified problems included disorderly conduct and the loitering of intoxicated persons on race premises, according to the ABC report.
J. Benjamin Dick, Foxfield Racing Association president and lead attorney, said probation was the mildest punishment the organization could have received.
"The ABC initially asked for a revocation of the license through the attorney general's office," he said.
The association did attempt to avoid probation by arranging to be placed under a consent order by the Stanton ABC office, assuring that they would continue on the path of enforcement of alcohol laws, but the state vetoed that proposition, Dick said.
It was the Stanton ABC office, which has jurisdiction over Albemarle county, that initiated the proceedings against the association last year.
The association has thirty days from Jan. 31 to decide whether or not to appeal the $8,000 fine, which Dick said he is considering.
In the past, ABC has not fined all of the organizations it has investigated.Bilyeu did not offer an explanation as to why Foxfield was asked to pay a fine.
Dick said he does not see the rationale for Foxfield maintaining a liquor license, since the association itself does not serve alcohol.
"In Virginia, if you don't sell liquor, you don't need a license," he said.
Foxfield's liquor license is largely a symbolic gesture to interest groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who pressured a local sheriff in 1983 to have Foxfield obtain a license, Dick added.
Bilyeu said, however, Foxfield is required to have a liquor license because of the public consumption of alcohol that occurs at its races.
For the past two years, Dick has worked with Susan Bruce, director of the University's center for alcohol and substance education, to make the races safer for students, he said.
"There's definitely been an increase in Foxfield educational events, and that's a positive," Bruce said. "But there's definitely more that can be done."
Last year, Foxfield arranged for a local law firm to sponsor free taxi rides for attendees, and University students created posters with tips for staying safe during the races.
Foxfield also enacted new policies for this spring's races, including issuing $100 to $1,000 summonses to underage students caught drinking by private security hired to patrol the race grounds.
To prepare students for stricter regulations, Foxfield representatives will visit local universities and show students an ABC video taken last spring of binge drinking and other high risk activities at the races in order to show what activities would warrant arrest.
"It will be lower tolerance, but we're still trying to work with students," Dick said.
Dick also said Foxfield's races are not the sole source of local underage drinking problems, citing University culture and the drinking age as examples.
"Of course, at U.Va. you don't always drink on Friday nights after a football game," he said. "Here we are going off to war, but [an 18 year old] can't have a cold beer in Virginia -- but that's the law and we have to follow it."
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