It's the first race weekend of 2023! Welcome back, mushing fans, it's upon us once again! Luckily South Central Alaska was hit with a ton of snow early in December so even with our warmer temperatures of late the Knik 200 has been able to stay alive and run this weekend, so here we go! The Knik 200 is a memorial race in honor of the late Joe Redington Sr. For those that may be new to this sport, Redington is known as the Father of the Iditarod. Without Joe we may never have had these longer distance races much less the beautiful niche community of long distance mushers.
Typically the honorary musher is Joe Sr, but this year they've chosen mushing legend Lance Mackey for the honor. Mackey dominated the sport from 2006-2010, he was a four-time Iditarod and four-time Yukon Quest champion (winning both in the same year twice). Lance passed away from a battle with cancer last summer, and many races are paying tribute to one of the sports greatest mushers.
There are currently 33 names on the roster (as of January 4, 2023) with a handful of teams that are sure to challenge for the win. Let's get to looking at the top names to watch.
Who to Watch
Brenda Mackey - While one could make the argument that the last name "Mackey" would be enough to qualify any musher for "who to watch" in Brenda's case it's a legit argument. The daughter of Iditarod Champion Rick Mackey is no stranger to the lifestyle or the sport and she and her husband have built a fantastic program in their kennel. Brenda has had a difficult end to 2022 with the loss of her beloved uncle as well as now her father dealing with his own battle with cancer, as well as another uncle currently fighting cancer. Once Brenda gets out on the runners she will have a good chance of leaving those worries behind and focusing on the team and trail in front of her. Look for her to make a bid for the win. Brenda has withdrawn.
Brent Sass - the reigning Iditarod Champion is no stranger to winning, he's also a multi-time winner of the Yukon Quest, and he certainly seems prepped to ride the upswing of last year's win for quite a few years. While he could be using the Knik 200 as a way to get the team back into the swing of the race rhythm don't expect him to hold back for the red lantern position either.
Dave Turner - Dave had to bow out of last year's race, but don't expect that to mean he won't be able to hold his own and challenge for the win this year. Dave thrives in these mid-distance races and could prove to once again be the dark horse. Dave has withdrawn.
Jason Mackey - I don't think there are many mushing fans who aren't pulling for Jason to have a breakout year in 2023. The younger brother of Lance Mackey, Jason has always been in the mix in Iditarod, but he isn't always able to make the mid-distance races, but it looks like Jason's "Top Notch" Kennel is looking to make their mark. He's a musher in his own right and not riding on anyone's coattails, but he's also keeping Lance's kennel alive and running some of Lance's dogs. I'm not counting Jason out of a top finish.
Matt Failor - The expectant dad (baby due in June!) knows these trails, and is a solid musher. He won the Kuskokwim 300 a couple years back and is a consistent top place finisher in races he enters. He was trained up by four time Iditarod champion Martin Buser, so Matt has a strong advantage in that regard from some of his cohorts on the trail. I'd give him an outside chance.
Nic Petit - I'm still declaring Petit the King of the Mid-Distance race. Team Petit thrives on the 200 and 300 mile races. He likes to start fast and race fast all the way through. It makes for a very exciting race but also devastating when the team runs out of gas before trail. Nic is a fan favorite by how he seems to just fly by the seat of his pants, his persona is one of shrugging chaos, and he likes to refer to himself as the team dad and the dogs are his kids. I'd say he's the front runner leading into the race.
Travis Beals - One of those Alaskan kids who grew up knewing he was going to be a dog musher and run these races he grew up watching and volunteering at. Beals is a solid contender year in and year out. He's got the goods to do it, and you shouldn't count him out.
Michelle Phillips - We don't have names for the two teams that Tagish Lake Kennel, but one can assume one of the teams could be Michelle Phillips, in which case definitely put her in the top running for a win. Michelle is a strong competitor who chooses dogs over everything else and we love her for it.
**Hugh Neff - Neff is once again running dogs out of Jim Lanier's kennel. He has a lot of controversy surrounding him lately that was years in the making. With Neff not being allowed to run the Iditarod this year he made the announcement he'd run the Knik 200 instead (because it's comparable?) he name drops Joe Sr. almost daily and so I expect he will push the dogs past their limits if need be to try and make a point. In a 200 mile race that may not be a bad thing for the race, but it's also why there are so many races that have put his entries into question.
How to Watch
For those of us who cannot watch in person, there will be a lot of refreshing of internet pages, here's a run down on how you can follow along with this weekend's race.
Official Website
The race had to restructure their organization a couple of years ago and is now under the direction of the Knik Iditarod Trail Blazers, so they have just a page on their site for the race, but it has the rules and basic information.
GPS Tracker
What would we do without these little trackers that drive us crazy when they go haywire (I will always blame the aliens), trackleaders.com will once again keep us obsessively refreshing our screen with their wonderful GPS map. It isn't live yet, so an edit to this blog post will happen once it does. The 2023 map and trackers can be found here.
Social Media
The race is most active on Facebook. The race has not been active on Twitter in years. There's also no Instagram.
And I've just heard that KALE CASEY will be covering the event LIVE, so be sure to watch for when he goes live on Facebook!
Schedule of Events
Friday, January 6, 2023
4:00pm-6:00pm Musher's Dinner and Bib Draw
**It's steak dinner night, come hungry**
Saturday, January 7, 2023
8:00am Mandatory Vet Check
10:00am Start
**Teams will start on Knik Lake**
Sunday, January 8, 2023
6:00pm Award Banquet
Which team do you think will win? Who are you cheering for? Comment below!
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