Ogden » Chariots of Fire it wasn't.

It was more like "Chariots of Ice."

Despite a relentless snowstorm and temperatures dipping into the low 20s, 32 teams of chariot racers congregated Saturday in front of the Golden Spike Event Center to prepare for the opening of chariot season.

Yes, chariot season.

Yes, the chariots you're thinking of -- like those raced by Judah Ben-Hur and Messala in the movie "Ben-Hur."

It was one last day of practice before the season starts in earnest Saturday, when Utah teams will compete for the chance to represent the state in the world championships, held in late March at the same track.

Sixteen two-horse teams, with one driver each, raced against one another in what Clinton resident Bart Amsler, of Ogden's Wasatch Slopes club, called "perfect chariot weather."

Half-ton quarter horses, ranging in age from 3 to 13 years, were hitched side-by-side and were driven for a quarter-mile. The average time to travel the 440 yards was just under 24 seconds.

Although chariot-racers from five different clubs raced Saturday, the ultimate goal of Utah racers is to produce a team that wins the world championship in April, against teams from California, Wyoming, Oregon, and Nevada.

"It gets pretty competitive, state versus state," said Duane Kearsley, president of Wasatch Slopes.

So racers helped one another wrangle horses into gates, smooth the muddy, icy track, and made sure each chariot and yoke weighed no less than 275 pounds. If the 65-pound chariot and the racer combined weighed less than 275 pounds, bags of shot were loaded onto the chariot to ensure the two-horse teams pulled equal weight.

Alan Bosley, of Roy, who spent the day working the gates with a Natural Light beer can in his breast pocket, remembered when families in northern Utah would race against one another during the winter. Many of the horses then, as they do now, raced on flat tracks with jockeys during the summer, and winter racing kept the horses in competitive shape.

The camaraderie of the Utah racers also was shown in a benefit held for the family of one of the area's notable chariot-racing families, the Surrages. The granddaughter of Ron and Dan Surrage, Traeya Phillips -- known to her parents as Growly Bear -- died in November only 70 days after her birth. Many of the 100 tight-knit people watching the races paid more than the $5 admission charge to support Traeya's parents.

The spirit of holiday charity followed last year's benefit, where proceeds went to the medical expenses of a man from another chariot-racing family who was crushed by two bales of hay. (Large bales of hay can range from 700 to 2,200 pounds.)

It takes a team of chariot-racers to work together to produce a team that will represent Utah. Teams' times will soon dip down into less than 23 seconds, as the weather gets colder and the horses get warmer.

dburger@sltrib.com