Beaver observes Pioneer Day with its annual town reunion of families and friends participating in parades, games and horse racing. Above, Porschea Knox, of Beaver, and her dog ride the parade route on a flying pig. At right, Matt Richards, 10 ,of St. George, snags an "Otter Pop" treat.

Michelle Thompson, 11, of Beaver, and other youngsters catch a cooling water shower courtesy of the Beaver Fire Department's water truck. Below, Douglas Kerksiek, of Beaver Nursery, has a bumpy parade ride on the Kerksiek family's steel-wheeled tractor.

BEAVER - After being primed in the morning with a parade featuring showers of water and candy, and a 5K run followed by fun and games and a feast of roasted chicken and pork in the park, it was off to the races Saturday for people in Beaver County.

For the past 59 years, the Lions Club in the southwestern Utah town has celebrated the July 24, 1847, arrival of Mormon pioneers in Utah by sponsoring the Dairy District Derby, featuring some of the top thoroughbreds and quarter horses in the state.

More than 3,000 people attended the derby Saturday at the Beaver Lions Club Race Track, which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1939 and where the original roof-covered grandstand still holds fans cheering on the racehorses.

Of Saturday's nine races, the eighth was the official derby heat that paid the winner a purse of $10,240, with the Lions kicking in $2,000 and the rest coming from horse owners.

Horse racing was begun in Beaver County in 1872 by the Mormon settlers sent to the area by early LDS Church leader Brigham Young.

"The old Mormon pioneers loved horse races," said Robert Lee, the Lions Club race secretary and treasurer who sat in the announcer's stand Saturday writing out checks for the race winners.

The other eight races paid purses ranging from $400 to $600.

Between races, spectators dug into coolers and sipped lemonade while sitting on the shady, grass-covered area facing the track.

Joe Burns, secretary of the Utah Horse Racing Association, said his group helps the 15 racing organizations around Utah stage racing events that end with the Purgatory Cup at St. George in September. The cup has a top purse of around $35,000.

Kelly Jensen, the association's president, said horse racing at Utah's 11 tracks is where 2- and 3-year-old horses become familiar with the disciplines of racing, like entering starting gates and running in tight packs around dirt tracks while always bearing to the left past cheering crowds.

Horses that show promise are likely to advance to larger tracks and payoffs in California, Arizona and New Mexico.

But it can be costly to get there.

Once an owner buys a racehorse, expenses include transportation, stable fees and training, which takes about 100 days at $200 a day, said Jensen, who also trains racehorses.

For the visitors, the race on July 24 is an occasion not only to celebrate Utah's Mormon roots, but to gather with family and friends. Plus, it is a perfect place for adolescents to flirt.

Bob Simpson, who lives in Glen Dora, Calif., has been coming to the Lions Club race with his wife, Bonnie, a Beaver native, every July 24 for the past 35 years.

"I don't care what you have to do, you have to come here," said Simpson, standing under a gazebo tent with about 30 family members.

"The only way I'll miss it is when I die."

mhavnes@sltrib.com