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All Alaska Sweepstakes is the world's first and oldest Long Distance Sled Dog Race. The Nome Kennel Club is proud to announce that this event will once again be reenacted for its 100th Anniversary running starting in Nome, Alaska and running exactly over the original Trail from Nome to Candle starting on Wednesday the 26th of March 2008.

The event will be held using the original rules as set forth during the 10 years of its running before World War I claimed it as victim. This
event was created as the "Ultimate Test" of a Mushers capability of
training a team that could compete and complete the race course of 408 miles without having to drop a dog regardless of the cause. Proof of that came when Iron Man Johnson running one of three teams, the last of the three, entered by Charles "Fox" Maul Ramsay with Siberian Huskies set the course record of 74 hours 14 minutes and 37 seconds starting with only eight Dogs (Teams placing 1st, 2nd and 4th; all reputedly Siberian Huskies) on the trail and eight dogs returning to the finish line in the Spring of 1910.

The real test of this "Grudge Race" of course comes from finishing of the All Alaska Sweepstakes with all of the dogs in the team with which the Musher starts. As a test to prove that it could still be done, the Nome kennel Club held the 75th Anniversary Running of this event in 1983 and only three entrants out of 23 total entering were not able to complete this test of Man and their Dogs and one of those was for a musher with a broken collar bone.

One must remember that each musher actually signs title of their Dog Team and Dog Sled over to Nome Kennel Club as security towards performance of and by the All Alaska Sweepstakes Rules; therefore the humane treatment of their team is of ultimate concern during running the All Alaska Sweepstakes.

There is a long history of mushers withdrawing from the event because things didn't go right; 1914 Leonhard Seppala's first entry in the All Alaska Sweepstakes, he withdrew during that race as a couple of his team had cuts on their feet along with a couple of others that had broken toenails.

With the appointment of race marshall's, Alan Crane (Race Marshall in 1983) and Mark Nordman (Iditarod Race Marshall) for the 100th Anniversary, there can be no better service, introspection and control of the All Alaska Sweepstakes than the integrity these individuals bring to the event.

Leo B. Rasmussen, Director AAS 1983 & 2008

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