2008 Iditarod 2008 Iditarod The 2008 Iditarod featured 95 mushers and dog teams. The 36th Annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ceremonially began on Saturday March 1, 2008. The competitive start was the next day. The 1,161 mile (1,868 km) dogsled race ran through the American state of Alaska. The Iditarod course extends from just north of Anchorage to Nome. The majority of competing teams hailed from the United States, while notable other teams from Norway, Germany, and Canada were in the running. The competition was one of the closest in recent memory, with defending champion Lance Mackey and four-time winner Jeff
2007 Iditarod from the 2007 Iditarod. Shane Goosen who has taken part in the Iditarod three times, told the Iditarod board that during the Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race in January 2007 five people said they saw Brooks kick, hit and drag his dogs and that "There is no doubt in my mind that he beat his dogs" and "It took three days to disqualify this guy, there went the credibility of the Iditarod right there — it's gone", said Goosen. Bud Smyth, a former race marshal and Iditarod musher, criticized race officials, saying the Iditarod officials were slow to interview and