Brenda Mackey scratches in Tanana

According to a press release put out by officials, Iditarod 53 has its first scratch of the race. Second year rookie Brenda Mackey made the difficult decision to end her race prematurely once again, this time in Tanana. 

Mackey seemed to be doing well until Wednesday afternoon when fans realized that Brenda's tracker was traveling backwards. The musher was several miles away from Tanana when she began to backtrack. There was no word as to why the musher was seemingly returning to the checkpoint she'd left hours before.

On return to the checkpoint Mackey asked for a vet check on a dog she said was showing behaviors she had not previously seen in the dog. Insider reported at the time that they were unsure if the musher had gotten assistance by use of her SOS button - and if she had, her race would be over.

The press release Wednesday evening makes no mention of hitting the button. 

Brenda Mackey scratched in the best interest of her team, she had 14 dogs on the line when she chose to scratch.