Dogsled.com: Mushing news, Iditarod, Yukon Quest, sled dog events

Dick Mackey chats with Theresa about his son Lance Mackey and how the Iditarod race has changed in the last 35 years. Video was shot on location at the start of the 2007 Iditarod in downtown Anchorage, Alaska

Video by Scott Slone | Alaska PodShow Podcast

Dick Mackey won the 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska in 1978 by the closest margin in the history of the event. His son, Rick Mackey, became the only legacy winner when he also won in 1983.

In 1978, Mackey pulled ahead of Rick Swenson during the last leg of the race from Point Safety to Nome. With less than 10 miles (16 km) to go Mackey had a 2 mile (3 km) lead, but by the time he reached the chute to the finish line along Front Street in Nome, they were neck-and-neck. While Swenson crossed the "burled arch" at the finish line first, Mackey had eight dogs in harness, and Swenson had only six. Since the nose of Mackey's lead dog crossed the finish line first, Marshall Myron Gavin decided in favor of Mackey. Swenson initially believed he had won, and when he learned otherwise he told Gavin, "if you made a decision, stick by it".

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