Husky News

Defending champion departs final checkpoint 19 minutes ahead of steadfast Ken Anderson.

Next-door neighbors Lance Mackey and Ken Anderson of Fairbanks pulled out of the final checkpoint at Braeburn minutes apart Tuesday, beginning their final 100-mile push to the finish line of the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.

A winner is expected in Whitehorse, Yukon, early this morning.

Mackey left the last checkpoint of Braeburn 19 minutes before Anderson at 1:53 p.m.

Before leaving, Mackey, 37, made a show of cuddling with his dogs, even lying down in the straw with them while they licked his face.

Anderson, 35, was more reserved. But before pulling his snow hook, he answered one final question from a reporter. Are you going to win?

“I think so,” Anderson said.

That may require some fortunate breaks. Both mushers agreed Mackey was in control.

“I’m going to fight to the very end,” Mackey said in Carmacks, Yukon. “If he’s going to win this, he’s damn sure going to earn it.”

Mackey left with 11 dogs in harness — three more than Anderson — and has generally been faster between checkpoints.

“He has bad luck now and then,” Anderson said, “but he’s not otherwise going to do something stupid. “He’s definitely in the driver’s seat.”

A mistake by Mackey afforded Anderson an opportunity the last couple of days.

Mackey missed a turn on King Solomon’s Dome near Dawson City on Saturday morning, a blunder that cost him three to four hours.

“I’m kickin’ myself in the butt all day,” Mackey said in Carmacks. “I would have been here three hours ago, basically. … Four hours is a lot in a race like this, where there’s minimal room for error, and I made a huge one.”

Mackey explained what happened while stopping for a few minutes at the Pelly Crossing checkpoint to grab supplies.

“It was my own fault. (I was) running without a headlamp,” he said. “I was enjoying the full-lit moon and went right past the trail markers.”

Mackey was forced to cut some rest to reel Anderson back in with a 10-hour run. After they leapfrogged a couple of times, Mackey’s speedy dogs erased a one-hour deficit and he was content to follow Anderson’s pace on the final stretch to Carmacks.

“It’s always easier to follow a scent, and my thought is: I’m still playing catch-up from lost time out of Dawson,” Mackey said. “So it’s easier for me to trail (him) and kind of save a little of those reserves.”

Both mushers took a mandatory eight-hour break at Braeburn.

A pack of musher are fighting for third place, but they are far behind the leaders.

The winner gets $35,000 and the runner-up $25,000 in this 25th anniversary Quest.

“Ken’s been mixin’ it up and keepin’ it interesting and keepin’ me on my toes,” Mackey said. “It’s fun. It really is fun.”

YUKON QUEST INTERNATIONAL SLED DOG RACE

As of Tuesday evening

Out of Braeburn

1) Lance Mackey, 1:53 p.m.; 2) Ken Anderson, 2:12 p.m.

Out of Carmacks

3) Brent Sass, 9:50 a.m.; 4) David Dalton, 1:55 p.m.; 5) Michelle Phillips, 2 p.m.; 6) Hugh Neff, 2:05 p.m.; 7) Kelley Griffin, 4:15 p.m.

Out of Pelly Crossing

Jean-denis Britten, 6:22 a.m.; 9) Dan Kaduce, 7:51 a.m.; 10) William Pinkham, 1:15 p.m.; 11) Mike Ellis, 5:50 p.m.

Into Pelly Crossing

12) Phil Joy, 5:08 p.m.

Out of Scroggie Creek

13) Kyla Boivin, 3:10 p.m.; 14) Bill Cotter, 4:05 p.m.; 15) Ann Ledwidge, 5 p.m.

UPDATES: The winner was expected to cross the finish line early this morning after reports of bad trail conditions.

Source: Anchorage Daily News