Rugged 1,000-mile Yukon-Fairbanks sled dog race starts

Posted February 06, 2015 10:00 pm

The Associated Press

WHITEHORSE, Yukon (AP) - A long distance sled dog race considered by some to be more rugged than the Iditarod is under way.

Two-time defending champion Allen Moore was the first musher to leave Whitehorse, Yukon on Saturday morning.

The Yukon Quest race will take dog teams across 1,000 miles of rugged and unforgiving terrain to downtown Fairbanks, Alaska.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (http://ow.ly/IFEzF ) reports thousands of spectators braved minus-40-degree temperatures near the Yukon River to watch an international field of 26 mushers begin the race.

Moore, of Two Rivers, Alaska, is seeking his third consecutive victory.

More than $130,000 will be distributed among the top 15 finishers.

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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com

In this photo taken Jan. 24, 2015, four-time winner Lance Mackey and Della Severtson fill out an inventory receipt for Mackey's drop bags during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race Food Drop at Summit Logistics in Fairbanks, Alaska. The 1,000-mile race begins in Whitehorse, Yukon on Feb. 7. (AP Photo/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Erin Corneliussen) The Associated Press

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