Husky News

Thirty-five mushers signed up for the Cantwell Classic, a 200-mile race that starts today in Cantwell and runs along sections of the rugged Denali Highway to MaClaren Lodge and back to Cantwell.

Among the field is Ramy Brooks, the Healy musher who’s serving a two-year ban from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race because race officials learned he abused his dogs during last year’s race.

This is Brooks’ first long-distance race since March when Iditarod board members banned him from the 2008 and 2009 races.

Other notable mushers include four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser, his 18-year-old son, Rohn, who’s driving dogs in his first race of the season to begin his quest to qualify for the Iditarod, and three-time Yukon Quest champion Hans Gatt of Atlin, British Columbia.

Only in its second year, the Cantwell Classic is an Iditarod and Yukon Quest qualifier that has proven to be a tough race.

Last year eight mushers withdrew before the race began, 11 scratched and only 14 finished with Fairbanks’ Lance Mackey winning the title.

But he won’t be in Cantwell to defend it. He’s racing in the Copper Basin 300, a race that starts Saturday in Glennallen.

Mackey, the three-time defending Yukon Quest champion and last year’s Iditarod winner, has won two Copper Basin titles.

Source: The Anchorage Daily News