Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska 2023 Iditarod dog sled race

I believe Pete Kaiser was the first AK Native to win the race and now it looks like the top 3 are all going to be AK Native.

i also see a sad dog problem with the top finishers they don`t have many dogs left that tells me they pushed their dogs to hard. what should be put in the race to protect those sled dogs is when the race is started its noted how many dogs you start with and also how many dogs you finish with . allow 2 injured dogs no time taken away after that 2 hour or more for every dog that does not finish with that racer. this year so far top 2 guys finished 1st place guy had 6 dogs ,2nd place guy had 8 dogs that finished that is to many beat up dogs gone from the finish, these guys started with 14 - 16 dogs that does not look to humane .maybe more mandatory 8 hr. rest periods for dogs and musher ? letting this type of sled dog race continue needs better sled dog care or it will be taken away.

Sorry, but that is a bit ridiculous. They do not need as many dogs toward the end and many pick up bugs from other dogs. Just because a musher is hit by parasites is hardly a reason to dock them. Teams toward the back of the pack are more likely to pick up bugs because teams in front have covered the trail with them.

Conditions were so fast a slow dog does more harm than good.

It might also be that a caring musher will drop a dog at the first sign it has a problem. Sounds like a very caring thing to do. You can make dropping of dogs into what ever side of the fence you are on. To me keeping a dog that is bred to run in the yard of some condo is cruel.

i see peta people and humane society using this against the Iditarod race ,just watch it will happen . too many dogs that don`t finish per dog team year after year. i have no problem with the race , but also i see a law suit on its way in the future rather its right or wrong ?

PETA and Humane society have been trying to stop this race for decades. They can both go F themselves as far as I am concerned.

agreed but Iditarod race needs to clean it up somehow it does not look good with those numbers ? who ever is in charge of that Iditarod race needs to not show dog numbers at all anymore , that is very foolish.

Great race!

Extremely happy for Ryan and the entire Redington family. Finally got that Redington name on a 1st place finish. Ryan is 3rd generation musher, they've been at it a long time.

Sitka, John Baker out of kotz has a 1st place win back in 2011. Was a big deal in all of the northwest arctic.

When Pete won they called him the first... what am I missing?

Maybe they don't credit Baker because he is quarter Jewish? Only joking, but that was a surprise.

Do you suppose it is because they are splitting the difference between Inuit and interior Natives?

Some quick googlefu shows John Baker as first Inupiat winner, Pete Kaiser first Yup'ik winner.

Apparently there have now been six Native Alaskan winners.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kaiser_(musher)
..."Kaiser is the first Yup’ik musher and the fifth Alaska Native to win an Iditarod championship."...

Looks like the first Native Alaskan was in 1976.
https://iditarod.com/race/1975/mushers/145-Jerry-Riley/

It's on my bucket list to go and see this shindig. I wish it was in the summer though because I absolutely hate snow if it's over six inchesLOL

Are there any sled dog races in the lower 48? Or is this just an Alaska thing?

Sure am glad you aren't in charge of the Iditarod.

Only in places with more than 6" of snow!

I know of mushers from Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, and Wisconsin coming north to race in the past. Also in Canada.

I know that there is circuit racing in our area (Wyoming) and pretty sure the circuit includes Idaho, Montana, and Utard! memtb

One of the biggest sled dog races down in America is the Beargrease in MT.

> John Beargrease Sled Dog Race is at Duluth,Minnesota

ya me too because if i was in Alaska and managed that sled dog race i would have helped with that sled dog race and somehow got more money to all those mushers >instead of just mouth`N off behind a keypad like you seem to do all the time on 24 Campfire you F. Moron . ya ya i know you claim to be a super tracker guide up in Alaska ,B.S.

Rotman Stores (mother's side) in early Kotzebue and Selawik, maybe other villages, too? I guess it shouldn't be too surprising given late 19th/early 20th century Alaska's "trading" history. John's father and mother founded Baker Aviation in the early 60's IIRC and Mr. Baker died in a float plane rescue attempt leaving Mrs. Baker to raise a young family and run the business. Baker Aviation was a Kotzebue "fixture" for years in the air taxi/freight business serving NW Alaska/NANA region. John was a good super cub/bush pilot, too, but gravitated towards his love for dogs and mushing over the years. I liked him and flew with him on a couple of occasions but he was kind of a loner and hard to get to know very well.

The family is well weaved in to the local area history. I was happy for him when he won the Race; he had the reputation well before as a fierce competitor!