Mackey wins Knik 200 sled dog race

KNIK -- Lance Mackey returned to Knik Lake at 9:42 a.m. Sunday to win the annual Knik 200-Joe Redington Sr. Memorial Sled Dog Race.

Mackey was the first in a 30-musher field to cross the finish line.

Jon Little was the second musher to cross the finish line. Little finished 17 minutes behind Mackey.

Jon Tonsberg hit Knik Lake at 10:13 a.m. to finish third, Jason Mackey finished fourth at 10:46 a.m. and Peter Bartlett rolled in at 10:58 a.m. to finish fifth.

As of early Monday morning, 16 mushers had made it to the finish.

The race commenced on Saturday morning after being postponed for nearly a month.

The race was originally scheduled to run on Jan. 4, but tabled due to poor conditions.

Though conditions were still not ideal, organizers decided to go ahead with the race over the weekend.

The local weather has not been conducive to dog sled racing this year. The poor conditions have caused cancelations in the Klondike 300 and Tustumena 200. The cancelations have caused some mushers to scurry towards the available races as they prepare for the Iditarod.

The Copper Basin 300 and the Kuskokwin 300 join the Knik 200 as the only races to go on this season.

The Knik 200 starts at Knik Lake and runs along the Iditarod Trail to Skwentna.

Mushers take a six-hour layover in Skwentna before returning back along the same route to Knik Lake.

The Iditorad Sled Dog Race, the final dog sled race of the season, is scheduled to start as planned next month.