Tomorrow, students will head out into the countryside northwest of Charlottesville for the 25th annual running of the spring Foxfield Races.
Foxfield, as it is known to many University students, has grown into a popular tradition in central Virginia, with upward of 20,000 spectators showing up in recent years for the steeplechase event. For the increasing numbers of students attending, however, the races have become much more than an equestrian event.
Between 27,000 and 30,000 people attended Foxfield last year the largest crowd ever, said J. Benjamin Dick, Foxfield Racing Association president and local attorney.
That was "too many," Dick said, and Foxfield has limited the number of tickets sold this year to 27,000. Dick said he does not expect those to sell out.
Between 6,000 and 7,000 of last year's race-goers were college students, he said. Although the University sends more students to Foxfield than any other school, growing numbers of students from other colleges around the Commonwealth have made the trip in recent years, Dick said.
Yet students do not always behave the way Dick would like them to.
"It's not a party," he said, criticizing what he sees as students' overly drunken and rowdy behavior.
The spring races actually are only one of two Foxfield events each year. The fall Foxfield races, billed as a family affair and held in September, attracts a smaller crowd with much fewer students.
Many of the spectators at the spring races are University alumni holding informal reunions.
"Alumni who come back for reunions say 'I can't believe what's going on,'" in the student section, Dick said. "I say, 'You were there five years ago!'"
The Foxfield spring races include five steeplechases - races with jumps - and one flat race.
Foxfield is one of almost 40 events in the National Steeplechase Association circuit, which runs up and down the East Coast. Some of those races attract up to 65,000 people, said Anne Tate, Foxfield Racing Association marketing director.
Although Foxfield is not quite as large as some events, it still attracts the highest-quality horses, Tate said. It also generates big money. Foxfield gives away on average $60,000 in prize money at its spring races, according to the Foxfield Races Web site. The race each year donates between $10,000 and $20,000 of its proceeds to a local charity, Tate said. This year, the recipient is Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.
The student population started to swell in the years after the first race was held in 1978, Dick said.
"I think the student population increased dramatically after they closed Easters," he said. The Easters events were outdoor parties known for large amounts of alcohol held one weekend each spring in the Mad Bowl. The University closed down Easters after the 1985 celebration, citing problems with the Charlottesville community and the participation of too many non-University students.
"We need to put away the Easters mentality," Dick said.
The influx of students has led to clashes with law enforcement. In 1991, 258 people were arrested at Foxfield, Dick said. Last year, 12 students were arrested on charges ranging from assault to underage drinking, Dick said.
Albemarle County police plan to step up their presence at Foxfield this year, adding police to watch the roadways into the site for drunk driving, littering and public urination. Undercover police within the race grounds will patrol for drug use, underage drinking and public drunkenness, according to Albemarle County spokeswoman Lee Catlin.
Despite concerns on the part of law enforcement, Foxfield doesn't receive many complaints from adult race-goers about the behavior of students, largely because they are in separate sections of the infield, he said.
The races have drawn the attention of the University's Center for Alcohol and Substance Education, which has helped to design posters to put up around Grounds outlining advice on safety at Foxfield.
For some students, Foxfield isn't about horses at all.
"I don't think I saw one race" last year, second-year College student Laura Greenwood said. "People don't go for the horse races, they go for the tradition and to enjoy the spring."
Student drinking was not excessive at last year's event, second-year Nursing School student Jessica Broadbent said.
"From what I saw last year, I didn't think it got out of hand at all," she said.
"I could barely find my way to the horses, there were so many people," she added.
Dick urged students to take advantage of the equestrian nature of Foxfield.
"Try to see a horse," he said.
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