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 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.”