Attendees of the 2010 annual Foxfield Races will see some operational changes to the races intended to streamline and improve the safety of the day's events, Foxfield marketing director Anne Susen said.
The races, which are scheduled for April 24, will begin at 9 a.m. - an hour-and-a-half earlier than last year's races - in an attempt to allow for more even traffic flow.
Officials also decided to alter the transportation methods employed to bring students to and from Grounds this year. Foxfield will employ six University Transit Service buses to shuttle students to the races, as opposed to previous years when the race organizers hired Charlottesville Transit Service buses and privately chartered buses. The change is intended to make public transportation options more easily identifiable for students and other members of the University community who attend the races.
A seat both to and from the races will cost $10 total - half of the cost of a ticket last year - which Susen hopes will encourage more individuals to use the service. Buses will run from 9 a.m. to noon and from 4 to 6 p.m.. Pick-up points will be at the Student Activities Building, the University Chapel and the Darden parking lot.
Foxfield will donate any additional funds from the bus service to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team, which will run a free shuttle service and recruit designated drivers to attend the races. The student organization also will hand out free water and snacks for any attendees.
For those who drive their cars but become too intoxicated to drive home, Susen said it still is more advisable to leave their cars at the races and take the bus home because Foxfield will not begin towing vehicles for 3-4 days.
"Nobody needs to drink and drive," she said. "It just shouldn't happen."
Attendees, upon first arriving, will drive directly to a parking spot, where they will then be "swarmed" by a team of staff members.
"They'll exchange your tickets for a wristband or a tag and then they'll check you're car ... looking for excessive amounts of alcohol," Susen said.
Foxfield official alcohol guidelines will continue to prohibit kegs, ice channels, free pours of liquor "or other means of massive and/or binge drinking" on racing grounds.
Although policy also prohibits alcohol in glass bottles, Race Director Patrick Butterfield said officials will not confiscate wine bottles from attendees, calling a past instance of this "absurd."
Nevertheless, Susen said she encourages patrons to pour glass bottle beverages into plastic cups and to recycle those bottles through the races' recycling program. Broken bottles, she said, may harm people with minimal foot protection and cause later damage to Foxfield property.
Alcoholic beverages are limited to being stored in small, double-six-pack coolers, Butterfield said, although food and other beverages can be contained in coolers of any size.
Susan Bruce, director of the University's Center for Alcohol and Substance Awareness Education, said although Foxfield is not a University event, enough students participate for the University to become involved.
Students can learn more information about the races, Bruce said, April 21 in Newcomb Theater.
-Radina Belberova contributed to this article
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