PATRONS who attend the 2012 Devonport Cup at Tapeta Park will be banned from taking their own alcohol onto the premises.
The decision b y the Devonport Racing Club to impose the ban brings it in line with the Tasmanian Racing Club in Hobart and the Tasmanian Turf Club in Launceston that endorsed the change several years ago.
DRC chairman Graeme Russell said the change to next year’s cup day was made after discussion with the Licensing Board of Tasmania.
“We introduced a partial ban last season, whereby each patron was allowed to enter the course with a small amount of alcohol, and we were told that we probably could have had that arrangement extended for another year,” Russell said.
“But it was certainly going to end in 2013 so, with a new track in place, we decided to make it a completely fresh start and implement the ban straight away,” he said.
There is no doubt the alcohol ban had an impact on both the Hobart and Launceston Cup attendance figures when they (bans) were first introduced but crowd numbers are again on the rise at those venues.
“We have recently taken back the lease on the tavern so we have total control of alcohol sales on-course.”
“We can ensure that patrons can buy their drinks at reasonable prices,” Russell said.
The Devonport Cup will be run on January 11.