Foxfield Races Recap

Nightlife skipped town this weekend to attend Foxfield Races in Charlottesville, Virginia. Admittedly, this was Nightlife's first time at this particular horse race, and the weather couldn't have been any better. Despite a horrible polo-and-flip-flop-shaped sun burn, we survived the weekend with few scratches.

46 East Lawn

Due to poor planning, I arrived in Charlottesville sans a ticket. I combed Craig's List looking for a spare and finally found a willing seller. After several hours of waiting, I tracked the lucky seller down at a Harry Potter festival on campus Friday afternoon. (Obviously not Foxfield material, she'd rather spend her weekend learning spells and mixing up things out of her mother's kitchen.) Relief.

While on the grounds at the University of Virginia, Nightlife stopped by 46 East Lawn, which holds some significance to some people somewhere. Picture snapped. The current inhabitant is Evans Jay Finger, a Kappa Sig in his 4th year from Houston, Texas. He is also a member of the Mystic order of Eli Banana, est. 1878. We also took a peek at Edgar Allen Poe's dorm room, where the poet and author lived until creditors ran him out of town in 1827.

Shotgun!

From there, the Nightlife crew made its way back to the hotel (near "The Corner") and decided Mellow Mushroom was the place to go for dinner. It was packed, but with a couple dozen beers on tap and an infinite number of pizza selections, we knew we couldn't go wrong. After a couple hours at the bar, we called it a night early, so we could rest up for an epic Saturday experience.

Saturday began around 7am. We dragged ourselves out of bed and made our way to breakfast, met up with the rest of the gang, and made the trek to Foxfield.

Nightlife wants to take a moment to thank our gracious hosts, who allowed the Nightlife crew to invade their family tradition and spend time with a great group of people. Thank you - you know who you are.


If there's one thing we learned from race day it's get there early. You don't want to be the guy trying to back your big ass truck bed in between two established parties at 11am. It's unacceptable.

These girls were wearing the exact same dress!

Mimosas. Corn hole. Shotgunning. Finger foods. Port-a-Johns. Flip flops. Pastels. Nightlife doesn't remember much. Maybe there was a horse, we're not sure. The food was great. The drinks were strong. And the bathroom accommodations... well, let's just say it was like Nightlife's last trip to some unnamed third world country. We suggest you take care of your serious business before you leave the hotel room. And ladies, bring your own toilet paper.

At the end of the races, Nightlife headed back to the hotel room for a quick nap before hitting the streets to continue the party. Charlottesville has many great bars near campus, and the drink prices are unbelievable. It was nice to be back in a college town.

Foxfield attendees drank late into the night before stumbling back to their dorms or hotel rooms.

It turns out there were horses at Foxfield!

The next morning, the Nightlife crew stopped into The Virginian for brunch ($3 Bloody Marys & Screwdrivers). The breakfast BLT was served on skillet toasted bread with an egg. The restaurant was packed with young people working through their hangover.

All in all, our first experience at Foxfield races was a tremendous success. Nightlife is back - safe and sound - in Arlington and will resume regular operations tomorrow.