Drug tests gone to the dogs

For the first time in the history of the world’s most famous sled dog race, several of the highperformance animals have tested positive for a prohibited drug. But race officials have refused to name the musher involved.

Several dogs tested positive for the opioid pain reliever Tramadol, the governing board of the nearly 1000-mile (1600km) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race said in a statement.

The team was tested six hours after finishing the race in Nome in March, officials said. They estimate the drug could have been administered between 15 hours before the test and right before it.

Officials say they likely could not prove legally prove intent on the affected musher’s part. Officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and to say whether the musher faces discipline.

Iditarod board member and musher Aaron Burmeister said yesterday he doesn’t know the musher’s identity. However, only the first 20 teams to reach Nome are tested, he noted.

Everyone seems guilty as long as the affected team remains unknown, said Burmeister, an Iditarod contender who sat out the past two races.

‘‘It’s not a good situation,’' he said. ‘‘I’m hoping that we can turn a positive light on it and the musher steps forward.’'

The Iditarod began testing sled dogs for prohibited substances in 1994. Dogs on all teams are subject to random testing between prerace examinations and along the race trail. Testing in Nome for top finishing teams, however, is not random but expected.

Burmeister said several times in a phone interview that no other dogs have ever tested positive in the race.