Iditarod Rookie Mike Parker scratches in Ruby

Iditarod just released a statment informing fans that rookie Mike Parker scratched in Ruby today "in the best interest of his team."

Parker had fans worried for much of the last couple of days when it was realized the team seemed to be having a hard time moving forward. Watching the gps it was obvious there was something going wrong as the team would move slowly for a short time before resting for several hours at a time. The team finally made it into the checkpoint of Ruby Friday and many speculated that Parker's run may be coming to an end.

Parker was running a team out of Jim Lanier's Northern Whites kennel. He carried with him the ashes of three dogs killed last season on a training run when a Polaris employee struck his team on the Denali highway. Parker was hoping to spread their ashes on the trail "where they belonged" and never got to be while alive. The driver took a plea deal earlier this month that was dropped down to a citation. 

The press release by the Iditarod stated that Parker had 11 dogs in harness at the time of his scratch.

Jeff Deeter scratches in Galena

In a statement on facebook posted Friday Night, Jeff Deeter announced the difficult decision to scratch in this year's Iditarod. The veteran musher and team have had a rough go since the start of the race with minor injuries sidelining some of Deeter's key players. 

Deeter had nearly scratched earlier in the race in Tanana as things started to go sideways but was encouraged by mushers Matthew Failor and Dallas Seavey to take time, take his 24, and come to a decision later. Jeff chose to continue on, but by then the team picked up a bit of a tummy bug.

As things snowballed it was clear the team was struggling and not having the race Jeff Deeter had hoped for. "By pulling out of the race now," Deeter wrote, "I can ensure that we have all had a positive experience to this point, and have a group of dogs that will be strong for many seasons to come."

No official statement has been released by the Iditarod yet, but it's clear Jeff's race is over for 2025.

Edited: an official release has now been posted by The Iditarod.

Rookie Dan Klein scratches in Galena

Iditarod released a statement Friday evening stating that Dan Klein has scratched earlier in the day pursuant to rule 42. No further information was given at the time of the release.

Rule 42 is the expired dog section of the race rules. The rule reads as follows:

"Rule 42 -- Expired Dog: The Iditarod holds firmly that no dog should suffer harm or death in connection to the race. However, it is understood that, in rare circumstances, dog harm or death can occur through no fault of the musher. Our policy is therefore, that: 

any dog death that occurs during the conduct of the race will result in immediate (a) voluntary          scratch by the musher with right of assistance under Rule 10 or (b) withdrawal with right of assistance under Rule 51 (such withdrawal does not imply any deliberate misconduct or violation as set forth in Rule 51), unless the death was caused, as determined by the Race Marshal, to be due to   the inherent risks of wilderness travel (example, moose encounter), nature of trail, or force beyond the control of the musher (these causes are all referred to as an “Unpreventable Hazard”). 

Any dog that expires on the trail must be covered and taken by the musher to a checkpoint. The musher may transport the dog to either the checkpoint just passed, or the upcoming checkpoint. An expired dog report must be completed by the musher and presented to a race official along with the dog.  At this time the musher shall scratch or be withdrawn from the race, except in the case of an Unpreventable Hazard. 

This rule remains under consideration. 

All dog deaths will be treated as a priority, with every effort being made to determine the cause of death in a thorough and reliable manner. 

The Chief Veterinarian will cause a necropsy to be carried out by a board certified veterinary pathologist at the earliest opportunity and shall make every attempt to determine the cause of death. 

If a board certified veterinary pathologist is not available to perform the necropsy within the time frame to preserve the tissues appropriately, (as determined by the Race Marshal), the gross necropsy and tissue collection will be performed by a trail veterinarian following the guidelines in the Musher and Veterinary Handbook. These tissues will then be examined by a board certified pathologist. A musher will remain at the initial reporting checkpoint for up to, but no longer than, twelve hours to commence the investigation. If the Race Marshal determines that the dog death is due to an Unpreventable Hazard, the musher will be allowed to continue the race immediately upon this determination being made. This waiting period is not to be used as a punishment of the musher. If a determination of an Unpreventable Hazard is made, a musher can then continue the race, but he/she must remain available for future communication to assist in the investigation. The musher and or his/her representative have the option to be present during the trail evaluation and necropsy. 

All dog deaths will be reviewed within 30 days of the race’s conclusion by a Dog Care Panel, consisting of three independent investigators, with consultation from the Race Marshal, Chief Veterinarian and any other professional experts deemed necessary by that panel. The musher involved will also be consulted and allowed to present input to the Dog Care Panel. The Dog Care Panel shall issue a report to the ITC Board discussing its conclusions on the cause of the dog death in order to gain insights that may help shape future race rules or protocols to achieve zero dog deaths. The Dog Care Panel shall also make a determination in its report on whether disqualification is warranted under the standards set forth below. 

The ITC Board of Directors will establish the Dog Care Panel prior to the race  start. 

Dog deaths resulting in disqualification, as determined by the Dog Care Panel, are: 

Due to musher neglect, cruel, inhumane and/or abusive    treatment. 

Cause of death is heat stress, hyperthermia or hypothermia. 

A musher will be disqualified if he/she had been advised in writing by a race veterinarian or judge to drop the dog at a previous checkpoint, but opted not to do so, unless the cause of death is clearly unrelated to this written recommendation. 

It is the policy of the ITC to report a dog death to the public in a timely fashion. The ITC will accomplish this by:

The Race Marshal shall immediately issue a press release to members of the media identifying the dog’s death 

Immediately following the gross necropsy, the Race Marshal will notify the musher of the results and will issue a press release containing the findings and the circumstances of the death."

ETA: Klein was running dogs from Ryan Redington's kennel. 

Edited:
Iditarod has released a statement on the death of dog Ventana from Daniel Klein's team:
"IDITAROD LIII MEDIA ADVISORY  

Date:   March 7, 2025
From: Warren Palfrey, Race Marshal, Iditarod Trail Committee  

Anchorage, Alaska – At approximately 12:00 p.m. today, Ventana, a four-year-old female from the race team of Daniel Klein (bib #19), collapsed on the trail approximately 8 miles outside of the Galena checkpoint.  

Attempts to revive Ventana were unsuccessful. Ventana has been flown to Anchorage where a necropsy will be conducted by a board-certified pathologist to make every attempt to determine the cause of death."

Iditarod issues statement on Brenda Mackey's scratch

Brenda Mackey posted on Facebook early Friday with an update on her scratch from Iditarod 53. The musher stated that she did not scratch with 14 healthy dogs as Iditarod's press release stated, and said that Jett was showing signs of a health crisis when she returned to the checkpoint of Tanana. 

Brenda stated that she had the dog checked in Tanana ahead of her departure but vets could find no indication that the dog could not safely continue in the race. Brenda said she should have gone with her gut and sent the dog home, but she chose to take Jett with her as they headed to Galena. About thirty miles in Jett was clearly not doing well, and Brenda stopped the team. The dog collapsed and Brenda tried to call for help but her phone had no service in the area and she does not carry an inreach (sattelite phone). 

Mackey thought she had pressed the SOS button several times, but after no help came she started thinking about having to run back to Tanana. Musher Emily Ford came up on the team and helped assess the dog, taking Jett's temerature. Brenda then chose to turn back around and head back the way she came.

In reaching the checkpoint Brenda found out that the ITC had not received the distress call. It is unclear as to why the race handed Brenda the scratch form - she did hit the SOS button but as she did not recieve outside assistance it remains unclear if it was a miscommunication or misunderstanding in the checkpoint that believed the musher was scratching. Nonetheless, Brenda signed the paper and ended her race.

The Iditarod released their original press release stating that Brenda had 14 *healthy* dogs on the line when she *chose* to scratch. Brenda wanted to make it clear Friday that one dog was not healthy, and that she didn't really CHOOSE to scratch. Words matter.

The Iditarod released a new statement Friday afternoon retracting their earlier statement giving more information and an apology for their original release.

"ITC Statement Regarding the Team of Iditarod Rookie, Brenda Mackey

Anchorage, Alaska – Rookie Iditarod musher, Brenda Mackey (bib #9), of Fairbanks, Alaska, scratched on March 5 at 4:35 p.m. at the Tanana checkpoint in the best interest of her team.   The original press release stated that Mackey had 14 dogs in harness when she arrived in Tanana, all in good health. 

As more information has come from the checkpoint since that time, it is now understood that Mackey had 13 dogs in harness and one dog, Jett, resting in her sled due to health concerns that emerged approximately three hours after departing Tanana.  Upon recognizing the issue, Mackey did make an attempt to activate her SOS button on her tracker, but unfortunately did not activate it correctly.  Mackey made the decision to return to the checkpoint where Jett was promptly examined by Trail Veterinarians and flown to Anchorage. We are happy to report that Jett is seemingly in good condition and appears to be healthy and in high spirits.   

The ITC apologizes for the miscommunication and any angst we may have caused Brenda, her team and her followers."

Mushers are given instruction in the musher meeting on which buttons on the tracker are the SOS button, it's given as a warning (so as not to accidently hit it) but also as a way to let mushers know it is there and able to use. There's another button that does not go directly to the race but to the company call center according to Brenda's facebook statement. 

Whether or not it was a mistake on Brenda's part or a glitch in the system, no one can argue Brenda made anything but the right call. 

Holmes out of Nulato, Phillips stays

Jessie Holmes was first into the checkpoint of Nulato Thursday night. The musher chose to grab a bale of straw and a couple of items before heading back down the trail. The assumption is the musher will take his 24 in Kaltag, which is next up for the musher. It's puzzling if he's taking straw and planning to 24 in Kaltag if the straw is just a ruse for those following behind, or if he's actually planning to go further into the race before 24ing.

This year the race is requiring teams to take a mandatory 8 rest on the "loop" part of the trail from Kaltag to Kaltag. If Holmes decides to not stay in Kaltag outbound checkpoint he could go to the very remote Eagle Island or Grayling to 24, and then he would most likely do his 8 on Kaltag inbound. This is all conjecture and it's no doubt what the mushers jockeying for position are trying to figure out. (there are other checkpoints, too, but if we try to stay with more tradition strategy of second leg racing...)

Michelle Phillips was close behind Holmes, coming into the checkpoint before Jessie had fully left. The livefeed went down as Phillips was coming in and it was speculated that she had also blown through the checkpoint, but her GPS tracker still has her INTO Nulato. It could be Phillips plans to take her 24 here before continuing on to the "second leg".

Further back is the chase pack of Mitch Seavey who spent 3.5 hours in Galena contemplating if he would 24 earlier than planned or if he would continue with his "plan A". Seavey told Insider in a rare interview for Iditarod 53 that plan A has him 24ing in Nulato. After assessing his team, the three-time Iditarod champion took off down the trail.

Travis Beals followed close behind, with Insider's Sean Underwood reporting that Travis had told him he was going to 24 here, but changed his plans. It's anyone's guess if Beals is feeling the pressure to not let Holmes, Phillips, and Seavey get too far ahead of him, or if he - like Seavey - reevaluated his team during his break. Beals spent a much longer time resting in the checkpoint and may overtake Mitch before reaching Nulato.

Nicolas Petit rounds out the top five currently on the GPS tracker. No one ever knows to expect from Nic except to expect nothing. So... not much commentary here (other than every time his team is on camera fans comment on how leggy his team is).

Matt Hall is still in Galena and at this point we can safely assume he is taking his 24.

At the back of the Pack, Deeter has picked off a few more teams after resting through the heat of the day on the trail. Quince Mountain, current Red Lantern, is also on the move again and closing in on the resting Mike Parker with the Northern Whites. Matt Failor is also resting on the trail just a little further up from Parker. 

Current top Rookie (which for Iditarod only "true"/first year rookies are eligible for rookie of the year) is still Emily Ford running with the Shameless Huskies kennel. The team is currently running in 13th place. 

Tomorrow may be the day for fans to nap, we seem to be headed into the 24 hour resting period for the race. It's all up in the air, but at somepoint teams will run out of trail where it makes sense to take the "reset" rest.

Rookie Charmayne Morrison second to scratch

In an announcement that is never easy to read, but not very surprising to those watching the trackers - Iditarod Rookie Charmayne Morrison has scratched from Iditarod 53.

Not much was given in the press release Thursday, just to say that the musher chose to scratch at 10am with 14 dogs in harness all in good health. 

The race also stated they hoped she would return to the Iditarod in the future.

The rookie musher out of Montana has dreamt of running the Iditarod since childhood, and has worked hard to build her kennel to train and race to qualify. Morrison is well known and liked in many of the lower 48 races and the early scrach is surprising to many.

It is speculated the unseasonably warm temperatures, silt storms, and unexpectedly difficult trail played huge factors. Top teams like Jeff Deeter and Matthew Failor have also seemed to struggle in the first leg of the 53rd running. 

With Morrison's scratch the new Red Lantern is second year Iditarod rookie Quince Mountain who is running about fourteen miles behind the back of the pack.

Drobny, Hall declare their 24 - Holmes first out of Galena

Another busy night on the Iditarod trail as the front runners of Iditarod 53 made their way to the checkpoint of Galena. Paige Drobny was first in around 6:40am Thursday, followed by Matt Hall about two and a half hours later. Both teams declared their 24 with fans and analysts alike hedging bets on if one or both decided to cut and run after a few hours.

About 20-30mins later Jessie Holmes and Michelle Phillips made their way into Galena with Jessie Holmes deciding to grab some gear and straw and head down the trail. With the straw bale firmly secure to the back of his sled suggesting the musher will camp somewhere on the run from Ruby to Nulato. According to Insider Bruce Lee, Jessie Holmes has hinted that he plans to take his 24 in Kaltag.

It should be noted that unlike a normal Iditarod year, this year's race will not see the first Mandatory 8 taken until Kaltag as the 8 hours must be taken on the Kaltag loop. Right now teams are jockeying for placement for making it to where they hope to take their 24s.

After yesterday's news that Jeff Deeter was contemplating scratching, the musher did take his 24 hour mandatory rest to reassess. In an interview with Insider the musher said that in talking with Dallas Seavey who was visiting the checkpoint Seavey asked him why was [Jeff] out there running Iditarod, Jeff answered "to be challenged" - well, Seavey said, here's your challenge. What are you going to do with it? Deeter left Tanana around 5am Thursday and is currently on his way to Ruby.

The back of the pack currently has Charmayne Morrison resting in Tanana, Quince Mountain is resting on the trail as the next to last team. Morrison may be on her 24 or we may be seeing another team in "trouble" and contemplating scratching. Mountain had planned to take the first couple of days a little slower to get the team into rhythm, however with the trail conditions of sugar snow - the further back the teams are, the worse the trail conditions are... which means even slower going and more potential for sore muscles and joints for the teams.

We're getting to the heat of the day in Alaska so look for teams to start shutting down for their 4-5 hour rests while it's warm to give the dogs a chance to cool down and stretch out.

Paige Drobny and The Squids are first to Ruby

Wednesday night Paige Drobny and her team of 15 dogs were welcomed as the first team into Ruby. Bells rang, a lively crowd of villagers and volunteers cheered them in. The chase pack led by Jessie Holmes are about an hour and a half behind Drobny.

Currently it looks as if Drobny is bedding her team down for a rest, no word yet on what her plans are from here. 

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.

Sugar snow and silt storm sideline one of the favorites

Jeff Deeter spoke with Iditarod Insider on Wednesday explaining why he returned to the checkpoint of Tanana after leaving. Deeter left with fifteen dogs in harness but soon returned with two showing signs of injury. 

The Yukon 550 champion said that coming into the checkpoint there was a lot of sugar snow and glare ice and that the trail was "punchy" which can often lead to soreness and slower runs for sled dogs. Deeter did not want to run with two dogs in his sled bag the entire distance to the next checkpoint so he turned around and came back to Tanana to send two more dogs home and reevaluate.

During his interview with the Insider the musher confessed he wasn't sure that his Iditarod race wasn't over already. He said that he let them go a little faster than he had trained for believing that the trail would allow for it and he just was not sure if his team could continue.

Deeter isn't the only team staying in Tanana, after a whirlwind night for many of the teams, mushers have chosen to take a long break in the checkpoint. Ahead of the first teams coming through, Junior Iditarod Champion Emily Robinson's facebook page reported that there was a ground storm on the Tanana River. The video looked like grey snow was blowing all over, but it was silt. Mushers reported to Insider that it felt otherworldly (Paige Drobny said she felt like she was on another planet, Gabe Dunham said it was like being on Mars). Anna Berington said her headlamp couldn't find anything but the sand (think like going into hyperspace in Star Wars).

Teams are continuing to struggle to get into Tanana, and the wind is still strong in the checkpoint. Other mushers seem to be having some issues out of Tanana with several showing GPS trackers turning back.

What was supposed to be the "easiest" and "most boring" part of the 2025 route has turned out to be anything but.