Dallas Seavey Overcomes Moose-Gutting Penalty to Win Iditarod

Dallas Seavey won his record sixth Iditarod sled dog race on Tuesday, despite an eventful race that included a penalty for failing to properly gut a moose.

Seavey was cruising in the race last week near Skwentna, Alaska, when his dog team became entangled with a moose. Sledders in the race are permitted to carry firearms and Seavey used his to shoot and kill the moose. One of his dogs, Faloo, was critically injured in the encounter, but underwent two successful surgeries and was expected to survive.

Seavey’s problems were not over when he shot the moose. The ethics of the Iditarod race require that when a large animal like a moose or caribou is killed during the competition, its meat must be taken and distributed. So the sledder involved in the accident must stop and gut the animal.

Unfortunately for him, Seavey was judged not to have done so adequately. As a result, he was assessed a two-hour penalty. Nonetheless, he overcame that setback to win the race.

The Iditarod covers about 1,000 miles in Alaska from Anchorage to Nome. Seavey completed the race in nine days, two hours, and 16 minutes, crossing the burled arch finish line at 5:16 p.m. local time.

Seavey’s sixth win surpasses the five victories of Rick Swenson between 1977 and 1991.

Seavey, 37, raced in his first Iditarod in 2005, the day after he turned 18, making him the youngest musher ever to enter.

His first win came in 2012 when he was 25, and he also became the youngest winner ever. He won back-to-back-to-back races in 2014 to 2016, and added his record-tying win in 2021.

His father, Mitch, won the race three times, and his grandfather Dan has also participated in the race.

“This one was supposed to be hard,” Seavey said after crossing the finish line. “It had to be special, it had other be more than just a normal Iditarod. And for me, it was.”