Standard-Examiner staff?dlewis@standard.net?

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GDEN — As four horses burst from a gate, mud flying from hooves, drivers crouched in the chariot behind, Mark Hodson watched with a smile.?

“It’s in your blood,” he said. “We’re horse people.”?Saturday began a new year for chariot racing in Ogden, and a small crowd came to the stands to watch horses from across the state fly down the track. A row of people lined the fence near the starting gate, the day in full swing with bowls of food and a few beers in the back of the truck.?Those who turn up are the die-hard fans in a waning sport.?”Horses are just so expensive,” explained George Weldon. “There’s the feeding, the hauling, trucks and trailers and all you’re racing for is pride and a belt buckle or a saddle or a trophy. Not many young people can afford it.”?Weldon said he couldn’t even begin to figure out how much he spends on the horses.?”You don’t make money. It’s just something you do in the winter to pass the time,” Hodson said. “You really have to love the sport to do it.”?Weldon has driven in chariot racing since 1988. He brought three horses on the four-hour drive from Vernal and will come down most weekends until World Championships in March.?Even though the sport is on the decline, he said he and the other people at the Golden Spike track are doing their best to keep it going.?Hodson said the group feels like family. The drivers all know each other and people help each other out when needed.?It feels like a big party, said Jason White as he groomed one of Weldon’s quarter horses.?White said he can’t explain what keeps him coming back; it’s just fun.?A lot of work goes into getting ready for the race. The people get there early and feed the horses, groom them, then leave the horses alone for a while. With more than 30 teams racing in a weekend, the horses wait in the stables until it is close to their time to race.?”Then you sit here and get nervous until it’s time to go race,” Weldon said.?It’s all done for a brief burst, usually less than 25 seconds to go a quarter of a mile. The horses race in pairs and each team races once.?Then the horses have to be packed up and taken home only to come back again the next weekend.?”Once you do it, it’s just… Well, I can’t see myself quitting as long as I can do it,” Weldon said.