Why are there so few Iditarod teams this year? It’s money, say Musher.

Ask Musher who compete in Iditarod Trail Dog Race, why the number of teams is so small this year and you will always hear the same thing.

“I think the costs are really, very difficult,” said 2023 Champion Ryan Edington.

“Mushing is expensive,” said the seven -time finisher Jessie Holmes. “It is astonishing that there are 33 of us who can afford to be here.”

“I’m just being output very much,” said veteran Matthew Failor.

Yes, sled dog races are expensive. This year, only 33 teams do the Iditarod work. This number is connected to a record set in 2023. It is a fraction of the record high of 96 teams in 2008. There are fewer teams than in the very first Iditarod when 34 Musher stormed for Nome.

Failor said there is a long list of expenses involved in the sled dog race. He has participated in every iditarod since 2012, a year with the double number of Musher as today.

“Stroh is a large edition. You usually have one bale per dog. Dog boots, ”he said. “Each dog loot costs 1.15 US dollars per piece or 1.10 USD per piece, depending on where they go and we use hundreds a week, maybe thousands.”

The laundry list continues: there is veterinary care, dog food, equipment, fuel and a registration fee of 4,000 US dollars. At the same time, sponsors are more difficult to get, said Gabe Dunham, who ended her first Iditarod last year.

“In the 1990s it seemed as if they were relatively lucrative,” she said. “And now you can go to all of these places and, you know, you could give you a few hundred dollars – which is super advantageous, every dollar counts – but it’s not the big money that it used to be or the big company sponsors.”

The Iditarod racing organization has also felt the burden and has lost large name sponsors in recent years, Like Alaska Airlines, Coca-Cola, Anchorage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Center and Exxonmobil.

Some Musers, including Jeff King, have Tour This helps finance your kennels.

Zachariah Hughes

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Alaska public media

King does not drive this year’s Iditarod, but he has driven almost every year since the early 1990s and won it four times. He also believes that finances make a big contribution to this year’s small field and said the prices have shot up since he started to start Mushing.

“I’m now paying $ 82 per bag for 40 pounds of dog food. I remember when it was under 20 US dollars and I can’t get into the veterinarian for less than $ 1,000, ”he said. “(These) hits me by far (how) the monumental costs that affect people’s ability to do it.”

He believes that participation will grow at some point, but does not believe that it will be soon.

Mark Nordman, head of the race of Iditarod, found that a group of long -time racing drivers recently retired from sport, like four -time Champion Martin Buser and fan favorite Aliy Zirkle. However, he also believes that finances are a barrier and said that race officials are working to increase the profit of the money supply.

“It is becoming increasingly expensive for people to have a team of dogs. It is very expensive, ”said Nordman. “As an organization, we always say that we have to increase the wallet so that you can continue to drive your passion.”

The officials have not yet announced the total price award for this year, but said that it will be at least 550,000 US dollars, as will in the previous year. The amount that Musers wins depends on the number of finisher and the way they work in the race. Last year, Dallas Seavey won his sixth iditarod and a check for $ 55,900. In 2016 his check was over 75,000 US dollars and he won a new pickup.

Nordman said that he would like to see more competitors, but does not believe that the race up to the over 80 muses that it used to have seen. But he said he was not particularly concerned about the numbers.

“Fifty for me are logistically beautiful. I think we’re fine. I really do it, ”he said.

The Musers lacks noticeably missing Seavey, the reigning champion2019 -Champion Pete Kaiser and Champion from 2018, Joar Leifseth Ulsom, as well as frequent top candidates such as Jessie Royer and Richie Diehl.

Zachariah Hughes

/

Alaska public media

In A video Kaiser said on his website, poor snow conditions and high temperatures In Bethel led to the first time in 15 years he did not race the Iditarod. He said he couldn’t get the training miles in his team. He thought about registering late, but the snow conditions in the area never improved.

“I was hoping that some better training conditions and better weather would come,” said Kaiser. “December and January, we really only waited further and nothing has changed.”

These bad conditions have postponed or canceled some sled dog races this year. It is not motivating for young Musher, said Redington.

“It is definitely difficult for someone to get into sport and stick to it. And it is a sport where it is difficult to continue adding money and keep it when you have a year like this, with the races being canceled, ”said Edington.

But, said Musher, the small field is not a sign that the sport dies. Interest in smaller races across the state, especially in the Yukon-Kuskokwim-Delta.

This year’s 16 Iditarod rookies is also a promising sign, said the experienced Travis Beals.

“It’s huge. Sports alive, ”he said at the start of the race of the race on Saturday.

One of these newcomers is Emily Ford, which originally comes from Minnesota. For her, she said, it is not about the number of teams, but about supporting communities along the way.

“They look around and we have all of these fans and they are those who breathe us into life as Musher’s life so that we can do this,” she said. “Even if there were two Musers, if there were a million people who have appeared, it would still be worth it.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Ford and their 14 dogs were on the Iditarod Trail, about a quarter of the way to the 1,128 mile competition and ran solid in the middle of the pack. On the front there were Holmes, Michelle Phillips, Matt Hall, Mille Porsild and Paige Drobny.