Sled dog racing

An 11-dog team ofSiberian Huskies, racing inFrauenwald,Thuringia, Germany, in 2012
Highestgoverning body	International Federation of Sleddog Sports (IFSS)

Sled dog racing (sometimes termeddog sled racing) is a winterdog sport most popular in theArctic regions of theUnited States,Canada,Russia,Greenland and someEuropean countries.^[1] It involves the timed competition of teams ofsled dogs that pull asled with the dog driver ormusher standing on the runners. The team completing the marked course in the least time is judged the winner.^{[citation needed]}

Sled dogs, known also as sleighman dogs, sledge dogs, or sleddogs, are a highly traineddog type that are used to pull adog sled, a wheel-less vehicle on runners, over snow or ice, by means ofharnesses and lines.^{[citation needed]}

The first recorded sled race in North America took place in 1908 inAlaska, theAll Alaska Sweepstakes. It ran 400 miles through some of Alaska's most arduous areas fromNome toCandle and back.^[2] The International Sled Dog Racing Association lists the winners of the first and the third races: "The winning driver [the first] year was John Hegness, with a time of 119 hours, 15 minutes, and 12 seconds. By 1910, entries had increased considerably, as had the speed of the teams. The winner of [the third] race was John (Iron Man) Johnson, with an (as yet) unbroken record time of 74 hours, 14 minutes, and 37 seconds."^[3]

TheAmerican Dog Derby is the oldest dogsled race in the United States still raced annually today^[4][5][6] and was the first dogsled race that rose to international prominence. First raced in 1917 and heavily promoted byUnion Pacific Railroad, it was on par with theKentucky Derby and with theIndianapolis 500 in terms of interest and press coverage in the early part of the 20th century and was considered to be the world championship dogsled race.^[7] American Dog Derby mushers were international celebrities to such degree that one photogenic female musher named Lydia Hutchinson was tapped by a producer to star in his movie. She may have been on her way to being a movie star when she died of pneumonia in 1930. The American Dog Derby popularized dogsled racing in the 1920s and other dogsled races were organized in towns and cities across North America and Northern Europe in its wake.^{[citation needed]}

In 1929 the Laconia World Championship Sled Dog Race was first held in the city of Laconia, New Hampshire. The first race was won by legendary musher,Leonhard Seppala, famous for his role in the 1925 "Great Race of Mercy", as well as, his lead dogTogo and kennel dogBalto. The Laconia sprint race is still an annual event over 90 years later.^[8] In 1932, sled dog racing was ademonstration sport at the1932 Winter Olympics inLake Placid, New York, and again at the1952 Winter Olympics inOslo, and once more in the1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer,^[9] but it did not gain official event status.^{[10][11][12][13]}

The most famous sled dog race is theIditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Also known as the "Last Great Race on Earth", the Iditarod is roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of some of the roughest terrain in the world. The race consists of fierce mountains, frozen rivers, thick forests, and desolate tundras. Each team of 12–16 dogs must go from Anchorage all the way to Nome.^[14] It commemorates the1925 serum run to Nome. The first idea for a commemorative sled dog race over the historically significant Iditarod Trail was conceived Dorothy Page, the chair of the Wasilla-Knik Centennial Committee.^[15] Even though the race known today was not first run until 1973, thanks to the work ofJoe Redington and his supporters.^[16] Joe Redington and the Iditarod helped restart worldwide interest in mushing, specifically in long-distance events.^[16]

Since mushing's resurgence, the sport has proliferated and sled dog races are hosted in towns around the world, from Norway and Finland to Alaska and Michigan. Due to the cold temperatures needed for sled dog racing, most races are held in winter in cold climates, but occasional carting events, typically known as dryland races, have been held in warmer weather.^[17]

A resurfaced race in 2020 is theKlondike Dog Derby, a 40-mile race around Lake Minnetonka in Excelsior, Minnesota. The race began in the 1930s and died out in 1998, until recently restarting.^[17][18] The majority of sled dog races in North America are held close to the northern border of the United States or farther north. Well-attended races in the United States such as theJohn Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon,^[19]Apostle Island Sled Dog Race,^[20] and the U.P. 200,^[17][21] all take place in the upper regions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, respectively. After these races, the majority of dog sled races take place farther north, in Canada or Alaska.^[17]

Sprint races cover relatively short distances, generally from 5 miles up to 30 miles/day, mid-distance races cover a total of 30 to 300 miles, and long-distance races cover 300 miles to more than 1,000 miles.^[22] Sprint races frequently are two- or three-day events with heats run on successive days with the same dogs on the same course. Mid-distance races are either heat races of 14 to 80 miles per day, or continuous races of 100 to 200 miles. These categories are informal and may overlap to a certain extent.^{[citation needed]}

Races are categorized not only by distance, but by the maximum number of dogs allowed in each team. The most usual categories are four-dog, six-dog, eight-dog, ten-dog, and unlimited (also called open), although other team size categories can be found.^{[citation needed]}

Races are organized either as "timed starts," or "mass start." In a timed start, teams start one after another in equal time intervals, competing against the clock rather than directly against one another. This simplifies some logistical considerations such as that of getting many teams of excited sled dogs to the starting line simultaneously. In mass starts, all of the dog teams start simultaneously. Mass starts are popular in Europe and many parts of Canada. Some mass start events can have up to 30 teams (300 dogs) start all at once.^{[citation needed]}

Although some races are unsanctioned, held under the sole guidance of a local club, many races fall under one of three international organizations. In the United States and Canada, ISDRA (International Sled Dog Racing Association) sanctions many races. In Europe ESDRA (European Sled Dog Racing Association) provides sanctioning, and the IFSS (International Federation of Sleddog Sports) sanctions World Cup races all over the world, as well as a world championship race every two years.^{[citation needed]}

For the race to be sanctioned, a variety of rules must be followed. For example, the ISDRA sanctioning rules specify that all hazards must be avoided, distances must be reported correctly, and the trail must be clearly described to the competitors. The racers have a duty to treat their dogs humanely, and performance-enhancing substances are strictly forbidden.^[23]

Dryland sled dog racing is a variant where competitors use a rig (3–4-wheeled cart with a locking brake and handle/steering wheel), a scooter, a bicycle (bikejoring), or remain on foot (canicross), racing on packed dirt trails instead of snow. Dryland sled dog racing is popular in Australia where the majority of snowfall occurs in national parks which restricts dogs from entering.^[24]

Another mode of dogsled racing is thefreight race, in which a specified weight perdog is carried in the sled. This type of race only has about 1 to 5 dogs pulling the sled or scooter at one time.^{[citation needed]}

There is also a huge following in the UK with theBritish Siberian Husky Racing Association providing premier racing on top-class trails.^{[citation needed]}

Racing sled dogs wear individualharnesses to which "tuglines" are snapped, pulling from a loop near the root of the tail. The dogs are hooked in pairs, their tuglines being attached in turn to a central "gangline". The lines usually include short "necklines" snapped to each dog's collar, just to keep the dogs in proper position. It is unusual ever to see more than 22 dogs hooked at once in a racing team, and that number is usually seen only on the first day of the most highly competitive sprint events. Dogs may be omitted from the teams on subsequent days, but none may be added. Many other rules apply, most of which have been in effect since the beginning of organized dogsled racing in the city ofNome, Alaska, in 1908.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2013 theSouth Gauteng High Court confirmed sled dog racing as a form of dog racing, and therefore sled dog racing was declared illegal inSouth Africa.^[25]

• Pedigree Stage Stop Race, the second largest sled dog race in the United States
• List of sled dog races
• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
• George Attla, champion dog musher
• John Beargrease, whose legendary dog sled runs are remembered and celebrated in the annual 411-mile John Beargrease Dog Sled Race between Duluth and Grand Portage, Minnesota.
• Mushing

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