Redington Memorial Knik 200 tomorrow

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Sports Editor

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is still about seven weeks away, but the dog sledders are deep into the mushing season.

The Copper Basin 300, Klondike 300 and Kuskokwin 300 are already finished and the Joe Redington Sr. Memorial Knik 200 is scheduled for Saturday.

Participants in the Knik 200 - a race that honors the memory Redington Sr., a former Knik resident and godfather of the Iditarod - will depart from the starting line at Knik Bar on Knik Lake, tomorrow at 11 a.m.

The race was originally scheduled for the first weekend of the new year, but poor racing conditions forced organizers to move the annual race to late January. Bruce Braden, an organizer of the event, is confident the mushers will see quality conditions.

"Every report I have had, the conditions are good," Braden said. "The forecast has more snow between now and (Saturday morning) and that will actually make things better.

"We got the cold weather we needed to freeze everything."

Braden said on Wednesday race organizers were busy making food drops and delivering straw to bed the dogs at the checkpoint in Skwentna.

Braden said, as of Wednesday, there were 17 mushers in the field. Although that number is a drop from last year's 38, he is not concerned.

"You look at all the races this year, the trail conditions all over Alaska. All the races have had a bunch of people sign up and everyone scratched," Braden said. "I am pretty happy with the number."

Braden said mushers have until the musher's meeting at 8 p.m. tonight to sign up for the 2005 Knik 200. The musher's meeting is scheduled to be held at the Sunny Knik Chapel at mile 14 Knik-Goose Bay Road.

The 2005 field includes Houston resident and Iditarod veteran Lynda Plettner, South African musher Linton McClain as well as author Gary Paulsen. After writing several award-winning books, Paulsen is making his return to the sport.