DAWSON CITY -- Lance Mackey believes he has a dog team that's just a little faster than Ken Anderson's. And that may be enough to carry the Fairbanks musher to his fourth straight victory in the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.
Mackey, locked in a two-musher battle for first place, left here just after 1 a.m. today with a 33-minute lead on his neighbor, Ken Anderson.
He also left a little wealthier, after earning 4 ounces of gold on Thursday by beating Anderson here by 33 minutes. With gold trading for $903 an ounce Friday, that translated to about $3,600.
"It looks like me and Ken at the moment," Mackey said at the Eldorado, a bar and restaurant in the famous Gold Rush town.
Brent Sass was the third musher to arrive here, but he checked in nearly 11 hours behind Mackey.
Mushers take a mandatory 36-hour break in Dawson -- time for humans and canines to recover and veterinarians to check out the dogs -- before resuming.
Mackey, behind leaders Hanson and Lippy, pulled off his first long run of the race Wednesday, traveling about 100 miles from Eagle to the Fortymile River and then nearly to the Yukon River in about 10 hours. Early along the way, he passed Anderson.
Mackey said he believes Anderson is having to work harder to run close to the same pace.
"If he goes by time, he's going to have to run a little extra to be at the same place that I'm at, so each run he's losing a half-hour of rest," Mackey said while sipping Crown Royal.
Mackey brought a dog named Willie with a hamstring injury into Dawson in his sled basket and will drop him, leaving him with 12 dogs from 14 starters. Anderson came into Dawson with 11 dogs.
Because Anderson will be compensated for beginning 27 minutes after Mackey at the start line in Fairbanks, he'll get to leave Dawson just six minutes after the three-time defending champion in the wee hours this morning.
"I like Ken. I mean, we're not best friends, we're neighbors. We're definitely competitors," Mackey said. "He's out to get me and I'm out to get him, on a friendly basis, I hope."
Anderson arrived in downtown Dawson wearing sunglasses that hardly diminished the glare on the sunny Yukon.
Anderson seemed surprised he came in barely a half-hour after Mackey.
"Wow. Cool," he said.
Brent Sass of Fairbanks reached Dawson City at 11:55 p.m. and Michelle Phillips of Tagish in the Yukon Territory followed at 12:07 a.m.
YUKON QUEST STANDINGS
Into Dawson City
1) Lance Mackey, 1:01 p.m. Thursday; 2) Ken Anderson, 1:34 p.m. Thursday; 3) Brent Sass, 11:55 p.m. Thursday; 4) Michelle Phillips, 12:07 a.m.; 5) David Dalton, 1:34 a.m.; 6) Hugh Neff, 6:52 a.m.; 7) Kelley Griffin, 9 a.m.; 8) Jean-denis Britten, 11:38 a.m.; 9) Bill Cotter, 12:53 p.m.; 10) William Pinkham, 2:45 p.m.; 11) Phil Joy, 3:58 p.m.; 12) Dan Kaduce, 4:16 p.m.
Out of Forty Mile River
13) Mike Ellis, 12:01 p.m.
Out of Eagle
14) Cor Guimond, 4:52 a.m.; 15) Ann Ledwidge, 9:57 a.m.; 16) Kyla Boivin, 4:39 a.m.
By MATIAS SAARI
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner