Burke officially withdraws from Iditarod

After a turbulent week in which the Iditarod Trails Committee (ITC) announced that it had disqualified Iditarod musher, Eddie Burke Jr., from the upcoming race, then reversed course, Burke announced that he has withdrawn from competition.

In an announcement on his Facebook page, Off the Rails Racing, Burke said that after recent events, it’s been a challenge to regroup with his team and prepare for the race.

“After being reinstated, it has been a challenge to gather my team back together and prepare for the race. This has not only been difficult for me but also the mushers I have made agreements with. After tough consideration, I have made the decision to withdraw from this year’s race and honor the agreements I have made with my fellow mushers,” he wrote.

Instead, he says that he will lease out his race team to individual mushers competing in the Iditarod, allowing the dogs to participate after training for nearly a year.

“At the time, my main focus was letting dogs do what they love. Over the past 7 months, the dogs and I have put in over 2,000 miles on the trail and countless hours of preparation. Traveling to Nome is what this team deserves, even if that means traveling the trail without me.”

The ITC only issued a statement that Burke had withdrawn, noting that this would be the only statement for now, shifting their efforts instead on race operations.