Alaska musher in doping scandal signs up for Norway race

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A four-time winner of Alaska’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race who was recently accused in a dog-doping scandal has signed up to participate in Norway’s Finnmarkslopet race next year, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

The announcement came weeks after Dallas Seavey withdrew from next year’s 1,000-mile (1,610 kilometres) Iditarod.

It will be Seavey’s first sled dog race in Europe, said Elise Houren, a spokeswoman for the racer.

Seavey quit the Iditarod in protest over race organizers’ handling of an investigation after four of his dogs tested positive for a banned substance following his second-place finish last March. Seavey denies the allegations.

More recently, animal-welfare investigators in Alaska said they found no evidence of animal cruelty after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals complained about a kennel operated by Seavey.

The Iditarod is held around the same time each year as the 745-mile (1,200 kilometres) Finnmarkslopet, which starts next year on March 9.