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Show 8F Supplement to: The Wasatch Wave, The Park Record and The Summit County Bee at 'the A. day Official league races began last week and continue each Saturday at Fairgrounds. Story and Photos Lamarr Christensens team flys out of the starting gates. by Nan Chalat . Saturday the first league informal buggy sprints. The races have been refined over the years. ' . Eight years ago the Heber Kamas Association built a. track at the Fairgrounds complete with electric Vi mile course in less We used to race timers. over by the old airport, says Dan Allison, a former chariot racer, now an active race official who isnt quite sure he trusts the new timers. He than 25 seconds. . 'i': swWESm!.. i m.. ... ..vi :... 'Ar .ih.v i - d: - - . stepping over the line to clear a ' rock off the track. Now i take. just as good a picture as the horse, dont you think? he chuckles. a former chariot racer, now an active race official who isnt quite sure he trusts the new timers. He accidentally tripped the photo finish In a rare accfr1" last week, one team lost control and became entangled with the second team. camera by stepping over the line to dear a rock off the track. "Now I take just as good a picture as the horse, dont you think? he chuckles. The races are now approved by "the American Quart erhorse Association, adds lie Russell from Kamas who claims to have been racing since they started and whose teams have competed in the World s. circle and the second two teams were called onto the track. As the teams excitedly pranced toward the starting gates, something went askew. The closely held warm-u- p accidentally tripped the photo finish camera by j race of the season, Lisa commented, We are seeing a better breed of horses here. Some are just saddle horses but more and more are quarterhorses and 28 associations compete in 10 official races up to February. During the. last week in February the top 12 division teams are chosen for the World Finals in Pocatel- -' lo, Idaho. The first heat begins at 1:00pm. Most of the fans avoid the grandstand, preferring instead to watch the race from the lot where the horse trailers are parked, to linger, with the contestants and listen to their comments after each race. The first race of the season went to Ron Wade with a time of 24:11 seconds. The teams disappeared past the judges to wind down in the Apa-loosa- church, neighbors would challenge each other to The teams cover the p.m. at the Heber Championships three times. Lisa Wardle, who. is a ' chariot radng enthusiast and whose father owns Custom Trailers in Oakley, agrees that the caliber of chariot radng has improved. Last And we have a horse race, ladies and gentlemen! "...i.s the cry every Saturday afternoon from now until March at the Heber State Fairgrounds. The chariots explode out of the starting gates like a scene out of Ben Hur." In less than half a minute, the teams cover the quarter-mil- e course egged on by the daring chariot driver. Heeyah! Come on NelNot exactly Latin, but lie! then these chariot races have nothing to do with ancient Rome. They started here in the pioneer days. After 7 1 ! excitement was unleashed too soon. The first team missed the starting gate and became entangled with the second team. When they reappeared, they were headed down the trak, hopelessly tangled and driveriess. One of the four horses, belonging to the Wardle family, fell and sustained a severly-broke- n leg. No one else was injured. "That kind of thing rarely happens; in fact, it has been years since we have had any kind of accident, said Dale . . Jones, President of the Association, who was driving the second chariot. |