Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race begins in Anchorage

The 47th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race begins in Anchorage, Alaska, Saturday, but the 1,600 kilometre race to Nome will look slightly different than in years past.

Fifty-two mushers — 17 women and 35 men — are set to compete this year, the fewest since 1989. And they will be starting with a maximum of 14 dogs, down from last year's limit of 16.

Among the competitors will be two Yukoners: Marcelle Fressineau with bib 27 and Ed Hopkins with bib 33.

This will be Fressineau's fourth and final time competing in the Iditarod. She says at 65 years old and with the costs of competing, she would have to keep working until she is 80 to continue racing.

Veteran Yukon musher, Iditarod rookie

While Hopkins is a veteran of the Yukon Quest, having completed the race 10 times, this will be his first time competing in the Iditarod.

"I've been holding out for a long time," he said ahead of the race. "I think it's something I probably should do while I still can."

But the Alaskan trail won't be foreign to Hopkins. He's worked as a handler for his wife Michelle Phillips, who has completed the Iditarod nine times, and he's also volunteered along the trail.

"I'm kind of excited to get out there," he said, adding he hasn't felt any pre-race jitters.

Hopkins said the trail this year might be slow going, as there's lots of snow, and he's also heard moose have been moving toward the flatter hard-packed areas.

"I'm going to be bringing an air horn along with me," he laughed.

The dog team joining Hopkins on the Iditarod trail will include nine of the dogs that competed with Phillips in the 2019 Yukon Quest, where she finished in fourth place.

Hopkins said his dog team will be "a nice crew" with "a good mix of power and speed." It includes six leader dogs, with his favourite being Dragon.

"She's my little black fur ball of a dog."  

What else is new?

Along with fewer dogs and mushers along the trail, this year's Iditarod has other new rules in place, along with a new board.

One of the biggest changes is if a dog dies during the race, a musher will now have to voluntarily scratch or be withdrawn from the race unless it's determined the death was due to an "unpreventable hazard."

Hopkins and Fressineau both said they're happy with the new rule. 

"I think that's the honourable thing to do," Hopkins said.

Other additions to the 2019 race rules are that mushers must review and certify that their kennels meet Iditarod Trail Committee kennel standards, and that dogs must be hauled in a "secure, protected, humane manner."  All issues around dog care and all dog deaths will also now be reviewed within 30 days of the end of the race.

Changes have also been made to the 2019 drug testing manual, which was provided to mushers ahead of the race.The drug testing period for dogs has been extended to four hours after they finish the race.

The Iditarod sled dog race has faced difficulties in recent years, including protests from animal rights activists and the loss of several sponsorships.

2017 was a particularly challenging year for the race as four dogs tested positive for the opioid painkiller Tramadol, a banned substance. Iditarod officials ultimately cleared four-time Iditarod winner Dallas Seavey of wrongdoing.

Mushers are also now held liable for all positive drug tests unless they can establish the results were caused by something "completely beyond their control." In June 2018, the chief of drug testing for the Iditarod trail committee resigned.

Despite the changes, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, more commonly known as PETA, says it still opposes sled dog racing and is calling for a permanent end to the use of dogs in the Iditarod.

"The Iditarod race is inherently cruel," said PETA campaigner Tricia Lebkuecher. "The new rule regarding dogs' deaths doesn't even come into play until after dogs die. So how does it help dogs?"

Lebkuecher said she expects about a dozen people, including herself, to come out to protest the beginning of the race in Anchorage with "a very powerful visual." She said PETA is also planning a protest in Willow, Alaska, on Sunday.  

Last year, protesters created a fake dog graveyard, held signs and handed out pamphlets.

 PETA claims since the Iditarod began in 1973, more than 150 dogs have died during the race. Iditarod officials, however, have disputed that number.

Last year, one dog died during the race. A necropsy determined the death was consistent with aspiration pneumonia.

The Iditarod Trail Committee did not return CBC's requests for comment before Friday night.