Public Media for Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

K300 Races Delayed

A musher leaves the starting chute during the 2018 Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile
/
KYUK

The Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race has been postponed due to COVID-19 induced lockdowns throughout the Y-K Delta. The K300 was originally scheduled to begin on Friday, Jan. 15, with the Bogus Creek 150 and the Akiak Dash also on the same weekend. All three races have now been rescheduled for the weekend of Feb. 12.

The decision to postpone the events came after consultation with health experts at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation. The K300 Race Committee made the announcement in a Dec. 10 press release. It states that the race may be postponed again, or ultimately canceled, if the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic do not improve.

There are 21 mushers currently signed up for the K300. If they choose to opt out of the February start date, or if the races are canceled, they will get a full refund of their registration fees. In the scenario in which the races are canceled, the race committee said that it would assist mushers who rely on prize money from the K300 races to support the operations of their kennels. The details for that program have not yet been released.

The K300 also puts on a series of shorter local races, and all of them have been put off for now. The race committee hopes that the local races can start in January 2021 with strict safety protocols.

Greg Kim was a news reporter for KYUK from 2019-2022.
Related Content
  • Mushing is still on for the Y-K Delta. On Sept. 11, the Kuskokwim 300 Race Committee announced that the K300, Bogus Creek 150, and Akiak Dash, along with…