All Alaska Sweepstakes

The All Alaska Sweepstakes was an annual dog-sled race held in Alaska during April. Mushers traveled from Nome to Candle, traveling along the Bering Strait, and then return to Nome.

The winners

Between 1908 and 1917 the race was held ten times. Due to the United States' involvement in the Great War and new dog-sled races elsewhere in North America, the race was discontinued. Two commemorative events occurred in 1983 and 2008, to mark the 75th and 100th anniversaries of the first race, respectively.

History
Original copy reads: Col. Ramsay's entry, winning dog sled team of the 3rd All Alaska Sweepstakes, John Johnson, driver ~ c 1910
Start of 1915 All Alaska Sweepstakes

In 1907, the local administrators of the Nome Kennel Club in Nome, Alaska, developed plans for a long-distance dog-sled race that followed a route along the Bering Strait. The first race, named the All Alaska Sweepstakes, took place in the spring of 1908. The competition was held annually until the final race in 1917.

To be in the race, participants were required to register by November. Each team had anywhere from 10 to 20 dogs. The race started in Nome and followed telegraphic lines to Candle, Alaska, before retracing the route to Nome. The telegraphic lines enabled the mushers to communicate their checkpoint times and ranks to the media. The stop numbers and places were uncontrolled, so stewards were placed at each stop along the journey to resupply teams.

Mushers were required to finish the race with as many dogs as they started with, whether they were alive, injured or dead. This rule encouraged participants to take adequate care of their dogs, since an injured or dead dog would be a great drawback. To help minimize the weight on each sled, a minimum amount of items such as clothes, water and shoes for the dogs was loaded.

Winners
Year Musher State (United States) or
birth country
Time
1908 John Hegness Norway 119 hours 15 minutes 12 seconds
1909 Allan A. « Scotty » Allan Scotland 82 hours 2 minutes 41 seconds
1910 John Johnson Finland 74 hours 14 minutes 37 seconds
1911 Allan A. « Scotty » Allan (2) Scotland 80 hours 49 minutes 41 seconds
1912 Allan A. « Scotty » Allan (3) Scotland 87 hours 27 minutes 46 seconds
1913 Fay Delzene Iowa 75 hours 42 minutes 27 seconds
1914 John Johnson (2) Finland 81 hours 3 minutes 45 seconds
1915 Leonhard Seppala Norway 78 hours 44 minutes 57 seconds
1916 Leonhard Seppala (2) Norway 80 hours 38 minutes 5 seconds
1917 Leonhard Seppala (3) Norway 113 hours
1983 Rick Swenson Minnesota 84 hours 42 minutes 4 seconds
2008 Mitch Seavey Alaska 61 hours 29 minutes 45 seconds

Bibliography
  • Hegener, Helen (2009-12-14). "The All Alaska Sweepstakes". Alaska Dispatch News. ;
  • "Great dog races of Nome". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-08-24. ;
  • "Nome Kennel Club History". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-08-24..
  • Gold, Men and Dogs by A.A. “Scotty” Allen

References
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