K300 dog sled race begins tommorrow

At 6:30 pm on Friday January 15, the 30th annual Kukskokwim 300 dog sled race will begin in Bethel, Alaska. Arguably the highest regarded mid-distance dog sled race in the world, the race again features $100,000 in prize money with $20,000 going to the first place finisher. A world class group of mushers have signed on to claim their piece of that prize money. We'll try our best to handicap the favorites. Here are the top 5 in no particular order.

With only 2.6 inches of snow falling on Bethel in December, the trail which mostly follows the Kuskokwim River will cause icy conditions. Not only does that make for difficult conditions for the team, but adds complexity to the handicapping process for us since some of the conventional wisdom no longer applies. For instance Mitch Seavey who has won 3 out of the past 5 K300s has won those races under deep or wet snow conditions. With no snow in the forecast and temperatures predicted to be sub-zero, he won't likely see those types of conditions. He takes this race seriously though and tends to be pushed very hard by one of his offspring (see below), so he makes our top 5 list.

22 year old Dallas Seavey had a statement year in 2009 when he finished 6th in the Iditarod. He learned his craft from one of the best, and would certainly like to make a statement by beating his mentor (see above), so he get's a spot in the top 5 as well.

Paul Gebhardt has dabbled with the K300 on a few occasions in the past and is back for another go after skipping last year's race. Gebhardt's strategy in the past has been to charge hard from the getgo, and that may play well with a fast trail this year. If his team can handle the ice, and his luck holds out, the 2-time Iditarod runner-up should finish well.

Martin Buser has raced the K300 since Blue was a pup, and dueled with Jeff King for the lead in many of those years. Buser's game has been off a bit for a few years now, but you never know when his game might come into focus again. He still holds the record for the fastest Iditarod finish, so we certainly can't count him out.

Living his whole life in Bethel, nobody knows this area more then 22 year old Pete Kaiser who surprised everyone but himself with a 6th place finish in last year's K300. Pete is one of a select few who have been training on the icy Kuskokwim trail the entire season. He will be running his first Iditarod race this year, so hw will need to finish this race to qualify, but beyond that, he has an intense deisre to do well in front of his hometown crowd. Pete's small kennel works against him, but we are picking him as our sentimental favorite in the top 5.

Honorable mention:

I'm told that we can only pick 5 teams for the top 5 prediction, so with this loaded filed, some first rate teams were left off that list. Somehow, reining 3-time Iditarod winner Lance Mackey did not make our top 5. Mackey has not fared well in his occasional K300 races for some reason. Perhaps it is because he chooses to hold back here so his team is better prepared for the big race. It would not surprise us at all if he takes the reins and decides to dominate this race as well, so we might well wish we had picked him once the race is over.

8-time K300 winner Jeff King probably knows this race more then anyone, except we have a new longer and flatter course this year, and he hasn't seen a K300 race with this much ice before. After donating $50,000 to the 2010 Iditarod prize pool, Jeff is not in this race for the money. He is in it for the glory, and has handled every other curve-ball that the K300 has thrown at him before with great results, so look for him at the front of the pack. Jeff has withdrawn from the race this year so he moves out of the top 5 and Martin Buser takes his spot.