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Sunday 05.02.2012

They're off again!

Sled dogs and fans were in Anchorage March 6 for the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Hundreds of sled dogs and thousands of fans lined up along Anchorage's Fourth Avenue on Saturday for the ceremonial start of the 1,100-mile (1,770 km) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, reports the Anchorage Daily News.



The 16-dog teams leaped and barked when it was their turn to leave the downtown chute for an 11-mile (17 km) run across Alaska's largest city.

The actual competition will start Sunday in Willow, about 50 miles (80 km) to the north.

Seventy-one teams are entered in the trek to Nome, an old gold rush town on Alaska's western coast. More than a third of the mushers are from seven other countries and nine other states.

Defending champion Lance Mackey is seeking his fourth consecutive win. The 39-year-old Fairbanks resident, among five past Iditarod winners in this year's field, signed autographs and posed with fans as he made last-minute checks on his dogs. He said he's hoping to reach Nome first -- if that's what his dogs are up for.

"I won't be disappointed if I come in third or 23rd, as long as my team looks happy and healthy doing it," he said. "If I get to Nome and I question 'Well, what if I had done this, or what if I had done that,' then I'd be disappointed."

Also running is Hans Gatt, who in February became a four-time winner of the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. Mackey also has won that race four times, notes the ADN.

The 38th running of the Iditarod is the first time in race history in which mushers will be tested for drugs and alcohol somewhere along the trail, with disqualification among possible penalties. The sled dogs have been tested for prohibited substances since 1994.

Iditarod officials say staging the race is more challenging following a loss of almost $1 million in funding after major sponsors dropped their support and video deals collapsed.

The total purse this year is $590,000 -- down from a high of $925,000 in 2008 -- with $50,000 of this year's prize money donated by four-time champion Jeff King, who also is in the running. The winner's take is $50,000, compared with the $69,000 of past years.

The winner still receives a new Dodge truck.