Eagle River and Anchorage riders win 2008 Iron Dog; Yukon Quest leaders leave Dawson City

FAIRBANKS — Eric Quam (Eagle River) and Marc McKenna (Anchorage) have won the 2008 Tesoro Iron Dog.

The duo hit the finish line on the Chena River in Fairbanks at 12:41 Saturday afternoon.

Andy George (Wasilla) and Dwayne Drake (Fairbanks) are the runners-up in the 2008 race, finishing at 1:09 p.m. Saturday. Third-place Tyler Huntington (Galena) and Pete Demoski (Koyukuk) followed at 1:12 p.m., three minutes ahead of Brad Reich (Kiana) and John Bahnke III (Nome).

As of 4:45 p.m. Saturday, 15 teams had reached Nome.

Quam and McKenna took the lead after an eventful Friday that included the crash of a defending champion and mechanical problems for the leaders,.

Three teams who were near or at the top of the standings for much of the first five days of the race were forced to scratch. Wasilla's Todd Minick and Nick Olstad spent much of their 2008 race as the leaders, but the Valley duo was forced to scratch in Galena late Friday night.

Tyler Aklestad (Palmer) and Tyson Johnson (Eagle River) scratched in Tanana late Friday night and Shane Barber (Willow) and Evan Booth (Nome) scratched in Ruby Friday evening.

Twenty-three teams have scratched as of Saturday.

On Friday, Todd Palin, a defending Iron Dog champion, was injured in a crash outside of Galena, according to an Associated Press report.

The Associated Press reported that Palin, husband of Gov. Sarah Palin and a Wasilla resident, was riding on his snowmachine at a high rate of speed along the Yukon River outside of Galena when his sled hid a barrel that was covered in snow.

Iron Dog race volunteer Chris Graeber said reports from a checker in Galena indicated Palin was not seriously hurt.

"The report is that Todd is OK," Graeber said.

The defending champions continued in the race, and rebounded to claim fourth place in Iron Dog. Palin and teammate Scott Davis (Soldotna) arrived in Fairbanks at 2:21 p.m. Saturday.

The barrel in question apparently was a hazard for other teams on the trail, Graeber said.

"A couple racers hit it, not just Todd," she said.

For more information, see www.irondog.org.

Leaders leave Dawson City

DAWSON CITY — Lance Mackey, the defending champion of both the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest, was the first musher to leave Dawson City, Yukon Territory, departing the Canadian town at 1:40 a.m., after a mandatory 36-hour layover.

Second-place Ken Anderson was close behind, taking off six minutes later.

As of 4:45 p.m. Saturday, five mushers had left Dawson City. Following Mackey and Anderson out of town were Brent Sass (12:43 p.m.), Michelle Phillips (1:10 p.m.) and David Dalton (1:40 p.m.).

Eight more mushers continued their layovers in Dawson City. Hugh Neff is eligible to leave at 7:34 p.m. Saturday, and Wasilla's Kelley Griffen can depart at 9:18 p.m. Saturday.

Three mushers left Forty Mile River on Saturday morning and were on their way to Dawson City.

Seven mushers have scratched in the 1,000-mile race, which runs between Fairbanks and Whitehorse.