Iditarod update: Seavey, Marrs with the leaders; Ryan Redington scratches

Updated Saturday, 11:15 p.m.

WASILLA — Knik's Ryan Redington was forced to scratch from the 2016 Iditarod due to a lack of lead dogs, according to a statement issued by race officials.

Redington made the decision to pull out of the race at 3 p.m. after reaching the checkpoint in Ruby, 495 miles into the 975-mile sled dog race from Willow to Nome.

In his ninth Iditarod attempt, Redington was seeking his fifth career finish and first since 2009. His best finish was 18th in 2007.

Despite the scratch, two representatives of the Redington clan remained in the race founded by family patriarch Joe Redington Sr.

As the lead pack neared the Bering Sea Coast Saturday night, Ryan's brother Ray Redington Jr. was with them. A 14-time entrant and finisher, Ray was the eighth musher into Kaltag, 658 miles into the race. A four-time top-10 finisher, his best finish was 5th in 2013.

Also still in the race Saturday was a third Redington brother, Robert, a rookie who was 48th into Galena Saturday night with nine dogs still in harness.

Ryan Redington was the eighth musher to scratch and second from the Mat-Su Valley. Willow's Jan Steves pulled out the day after the race began in Skwentna with an injury. As of Saturday night, 77 mushers remained in the race, including 26 from the Mat-Su.

That group included a pair of front-runners from the Mat-Su. According to race GPS, defending champion Dallas Seavey, of Willow, was in second place at 11 p.m., about five miles behind leader Brent Sass as the leaders closed in on Unalakleet. Seavey is trying to win his fourth Iditarod in 10 starts. A 29-year-old who grew up on the Kenai Peninsula, Seavey has never scratched and has earned $321,000 in Iditarod prize money since his rookie year of 2005.

The race tracker showed another Willow musher, rising star Wade Marrs, in fifth place, 30 miles back of Sass. Marrs, 25, is a four-time finisher who improved from 32nd in 2013 to 16th in 2014 and to 8th last year.

The two Willow racers were separated by Mitch Seavey, of Seward, in third place, and Two Rivers' Aliy Zirkle in fourth. Dallas' father, Mitch Seavey won the race in 2004 and 2013 and finished second to his son last year. Zirkle is a four-time top-5 finisher who has three runner-up runs on her resume.

Zirkle's team is recovering from an incident early Saturday morning in which a snowmachine rider allegedly used his machine to attack Zirkle and Jeff King separately in incidents outside Nulato. One King dog died and several animals on mushers' teams were injured. The man was arrested and charged with several crimes.

The first checkpoint on the coast, the village of Unalakleet is about 261 miles from the finish line in Nome.

The race started Sunday, March 6 on Willow Lake.