Joe Redington Joe Redington Joe Redington, Senior (February 1, 1917 – June 24, 1999) was an American dog musher and kennel owner, who is best known as the ""Father of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race"", a long distance sled dog race run annually from the Anchorage area to Nome, Alaska. Redington was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma on February 1, 1917 and lived there until he was six years old. His mother left him shortly after his birth, and he grew up with his father and his brothers James and Ray. Joe said there were rumors that his mother was the outlaw
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race where they are taken care of by prison inmates until picked up by handlers or family members, or they are flown to Nome for transport home. According to Iditarod veterinarian Dr. Stuart Nelson, Jr., "Reasons for dropping dogs are numerous. Attitude problems, fatigue, illness, immaturity, injury, being “in heat,” lack of speed and musher strategy, are the more common ones." The dogs are well-conditioned athletes. Training starts in late summer or early fall and intensifies between November and March; competitive teams run before the race. When there is no snow, dog drivers train using wheeled carts or all-terrain vehicles set