Iditarod starts with smallest field in history

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Last year, Brent Sass was just miles from fulfilling his dream of winning the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska when vicious, 60-mph winds whipsawed in from the Bering Sea, taking visibility down to about 10 feet and forcing him off his sled as his dogs hunkered down in the snow.

“I did not voluntarily make that stop,” laughed Sass.

Sass regrouped and led his team of 11 dogs off the Bering Sea ice and down Nome’s main street to the iconic burled arch finish line, winning his first Iditarod, the world’s most famous sled dog race, in his seventh attempt.

Sass is back to defend his title in the race, which began Saturday with a fan-friendly 11-mile jaunt through the streets of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city. Thousands of people lined up to cheer on the mushers, who carried “Iditariders,” lucky auction winners, on their sleds for the ceremonial start.

Things get serious Sunday with the competitive start of the race that will take mushers nearly 1,000 miles across Alaska.

It begins in Willow, about 70 miles north of Anchorage.

This is the 51st running of the Iditarod, but its 33 mushers are the smallest field ever to start the race. Mushers and race organizers point to the retirement of some veteran mushers; others taking a break to recoup financially after the pandemic; inflation, and the loss of deep-pocketed sponsors amid continuing pressure from the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

PETA took out full-page newspaper ads in Alaska’s two largest cities decrying what it calls the cruel abuse of dogs forced to haul their mushers and gear over the race’s thousand miles.

The group also staged a protest outside the mushers’ annual banquet Thursday.