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DROUGHT, from Page 11
"The course at Morven has been heavily mulched, and we have had some rain over the past few months," said Dr. J. M. Rogers, a member of the Morven Park Board of Trustees. "If we do not get any rain before race day (October 15), we will water the course; there is a fire hydrant at the Morven Equitation School, and we can also buy water from the town of Leesburg, so the going will not be hard."
Further south in Charlottesville, the situation does not seem to be too bad either.
"We have a full time staff to work on the course here," said Stephen P. Groat, the director of the Foxfield Fall Races. "I think we have a very nice course, and the ground is in good shape. We have had rain down here, so I do not think the going will be hard. I am hoping that we get a strong field of entries."
A few days like September 13 will also help to save the steeplechasing season and make it as exciting as it has the potential to be.
Dr. Joseph Rogers of Leesburg is the owner of Private Gary, a horse that has been doing well around the country this year. Private Gary won the Virginia Gold Cup at Warrenton in May of this year and was second in the Arlington Timber Steeplechase at Arlington Park in Chicago.
"We just got rubber-padded shoes for Private Gary," said Dr. Rogers, "but maybe we won't need them."
Rubber-backed shoes provide some absorption for the impact on a horse's legs when it runs and jumps on hard ground. But the shoes can slow the horse down a bit too, which makes owners prefer not to use them.
Randolph Rouse, chairman of the Fairfax Races, was ecstatic about the recent rain.
"It was a Godsend. It was really vital that we had some rain for the course at Fairfax. This will help renew the vigor of the grass more than it will soften the ground. If the grass can grow a bit, it will provide good cover so that the ground will not dry up and harden so quickly.
"The renewed grass will also add some absorption to the course so the horses should not need to use rubber padded shoes to race in. But it would be really nice if we could get a bit more rain before race day too!"
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