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Hi, ADN Iditarod fans,

The Iditarod has now recorded its first (and so far only) dog death of the 2024 race.

Details are still emerging, but the Iditarod Trail Committee said that a 2-year-old dog named Bog, on rookie Isaac Teaford's team, collapsed about 200 feet from the checkpoint in Nulato on the Yukon River. A veterinarian approached the team and CPR was administered, according to race officials, but the dog died. A necropsy will be performed.

Teaford scratched as a result of the dog's death. Under the Iditarod's Rule 42, in the event of a dog death, a musher may voluntarily scratch; they could be withdrawn from competition by race officials; or, if the race marshal determines the dog died due to an "unpreventable hazard," the musher could still be eligible to compete. 

Teaford, who was running a team of sled dogs from Dallas Seavey's kennel, is one of three mushers to scratch Sunday, after a week without a single scratch. The two others are also rookies: Erin Altemus and Connor McMahon. Both decided to scratch in the best interest of their teams, according to the Iditarod Trail Committee.

We'll continue to report on the dog's death as more information becomes available.

In terms of the competition, Seavey — who left Unalakleet early this afternoon — has pulled slightly ahead of the rest of the front pack, but the other mushers are close behind. Chief among them is Jessie Holmes, who has departed from Unalakleet and is hoping to gain an advantage over the rest of the field.

One surprise development: Travis Beals, who held a tenuous lead through much of the middle stretch of the race, was shut down on the run from Kaltag to Unalakleet. His team took a little over 22 hours on that segment of trail, compared to other front-pack mushers who'd made that run seven to eight hours faster. You can expect a story out of Unalakleet later this evening at ADN.com/iditarod.

Yesterday morning, competitors back at the Yukon River checkpoint of Galena talked to Alaska Public Media's Casey Grove about some of the challenges that deep cold can bring. Pulling out the parkas they've barely needed to use this race, mushers bundled up. So did their dogs.

There's “a lot more dog care involved,” veteran musher Jessie Royer said. “And then a lot of clothes for us to wear. So much clothes. Yeah, so much to keep track of.”

Musher Amanda Otto untangles her mittens before leaving the Galena checkpoint on Saturday. (Casey Grove / Alaska Public Media)

Rookie Josi Thyr told APM that days of sleep deprivation were taking their toll, conspiring with the flatness of the Yukon River to lull her to sleep. 

“So it’s part of the distance mushing hazards. But I don’t really want to lose my team on the river. That’d be a little embarrassing,” she said. “It’s completely flat and you lose it just from falling asleep.”

Fairbanks musher Josi Thyr and her team arrive at the Galena checkpoint Saturday. (Casey Grove / Alaska Public Media)

Returning to your questions, one reader asked: How many mushers finished last year's race?

For the 2023 Iditarod, 33 mushers started the race, but just 29 teams crossed the finish line in Nome after four teams scratched that year. 

It's worth diving into some context around the field size. Last year's competitor field was the smallest ever (even the field for the first Iditarod in 1973 was slightly larger, at 34). On the flip side, the highest number of mushers to ever start the Iditarod is 96, a high reached in 2008. In the past eight years, there's been a significant downward trend in the number of competitors, a reflection of waning musher interest due to the cost and logistical hurdles of racing in the Iditarod, among other factors.

For some involved in the race, though, a smaller field size can be viewed as a positive development. It means fewer returned dogs to fly back from the trail, less strain on resources and volunteers, a bigger share of the race purse for competitors. Checkpoints aren't as crowded and dog care can improve. 

Race director Mark Nordman said before this year's Iditarod began that he was "thrilled we don't have 96 teams," adding: "That was too much."

This year's field size, at 38 competitors, is one of the smallest in the Iditarod's history.

We'll continue to monitor what's happening in the race. And as always, you can check back at ADN.com/iditarod for the latest updates.

Happy trails, 

Vicky Ho
vho@adn.com

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