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3rd April 2018

Enhanced responsible drinking campaign created for racecourses

Alcohol education charity Drinkaware and The Racecourse Association are launching ‘Pace Yourself Plus’, an enhanced version of their successful ‘Pace Yourself’ responsible drinking campaign. It will be in operation at racecourses this year, with a specific focus on some of the sport’s biggest events including the Randox Health Grand National Festival from 12-14 April.

Pace Yourself has been running for five years at all 59 Racecourse Association courses in Great Britain. It is designed to help the six million people who visit a racecourse every year to enjoy the experience, by encouraging people to ‘pace themselves’. Messages about alternating every alcoholic beverage with a soft drink or free tap water, eating during the day and tracking their drinking are communicated via various channels at racecourses, including posters, race day programmes, big screen adverts and POS at the free water stations.

Pace Yourself Plus is an extension of this successful campaign and will include:

  • A rounded training programme for racecourse staff to be accredited as ‘Pace Yourself Crew’, an adaptation of the Drinkaware Crew programme operating in bars and clubs. Training will help equip staff to counter alcohol-related harms, and support customers who may be vulnerable as a result of excessive drinking
  • An e-learning programme for raceday staff to learn the basics of responsible alcohol service in a racecourse environment
  • Updated coach and group booking forms allowing racecourses to better understand where their customers are coming from
  • A new suite of supporting promotional collateral

Additionally, Drinkaware and the Racecourse Association support the Pace Yourself campaign on social media around a number of the larger racing events, including the Randox Health Grand National Festival, Boodles May Festival at Chester, Royal Ascot, the Qatar Goodwood Festival, the William Hill St Leger Festival at Doncaster and the William Hill Ayr Gold Cup Festival.

Rommel Moseley, Director of Business Development & Partnerships at Drinkaware, said, “A day at the races is a wonderful experience for millions of people every year and many of them will enjoy alcoholic drinks as part of the occasion.

“The Pace Yourself campaign was introduced as a way of encouraging racegoers to think about and moderate their alcohol consumption over what can be a very long day, and to make the most of the event. We’re delighted that the Racecourse Association is continuing to help racecourse customers make informed decisions about their drinking and enhancing the campaign through Pace Yourself Plus.”

Paul Swain, Brand & Experience Manager at the Racecourse Association, added, “The Racecourse Association was the first sporting partner to work with Drinkaware and we’re proud to have created the Pace Yourself campaign with them.

“This campaign about responsible drinking, which all racecourses are communicating to their customers, is designed to give customers clear advice about moderating their drinking. Pace Yourself Plus strengthens the campaign by providing better training for racecourse staff and we’re delighted to be launching it across all our courses and ultimately improving everyone’s experience of a day at the races.”

ENDS

For more information about Drinkaware, please contact

Ros Shiel: ros@shielporter.com / 07841 694137

OR John Porter: john@shielporter.com / 07734 054389

For more information about The Racecourse Association, please contact

Will Aitkenhead – will.aitkenhead@racecourseassociation.co.uk or 07917 127 302

Notes to editors

Drinkaware is an independent UK-wide, alcohol education charity with the objective of positively changing public behaviour and the national drinking culture. It aims to reduce alcohol misuse and minimise harm by helping people make better choices about their drinking. It achieves this by providing impartial, evidence-based information, advice and practical resources; raising awareness of alcohol and its harms and by working collaboratively with partners (including the medical community, public health, third sector organisations, local authorities, police and the drinks industry).

Drinkaware has more than 100 funders, including UK alcohol producers, on-trade, off-trade and wholesalers.

For further information visit www.drinkaware.co.uk

The Racecourse Association is the trade association for British racecourses. 59 racecourses are members and have equal voting rights. The RCA serves the interests of its 59 British racecourse members both inside and outside the sport, empowering them to be the best venues that they can be.

The RCA works on behalf of racecourses to represent their views within the sport through the tripartite structure of the Members’ Agreement alongside BHA and The Horsemen’s Group. Outside of horseracing, the RCA works alongside the Government, other sports and leisure venues, and national charities to meet the needs of racecourses. Additionally, the RCA encourages and facilitates racecourse community engagement, involvement in horse welfare initiatives, responsible drinking campaigns, and various other partnerships within the sport.