Registration for the 2018 Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race has been open for a month, and so far, 13 mushers are signed up to compete. Among those on the list is last year’s champion Pete Kaiser of Bethel, who has won the last three K300’s.
Other big names racing in this year’s K300 include Jeff King, Joar Leifseth Ulsom, and Jason Mackey. Mackey recently withdrew from the 2018 Iditarod due to the Iditarod Trail Committee’s handling of the doping incident with Dallas Seavey’s sled dog team.
Mackey has also stated that his one major sponsor for that race dropped him.
2018 K300 mushers are competing for the same amount of money as last year. The total purse amount is still $150,000, with $25,000 of that going to the winner. One change in this year’s race is there will be a musher limit of 30 teams. Once 17 more mushers sign up, then the registration period is closed.
The 300-mile race from Bethel to Aniak and back is set to begin January 19th at 6:30pm.
Image at top: Pete Kaiser and his dog team approach the finish line, moments before their third-in-a-row Kuskokwim 300 victory. Photo: Kaiser Racing Kennel, kaiserracing.com; used with permission.
