Braeburn, YK - Big Lake musher Jake Berkowitz’s team pulled so hard out of the start chute that the musher’s drag pad dug a deep trench through the snow. The 2012 Rookie of the year hopes to best his fourth place finish, but he knows a win won’t come easy. “Especially going this way there’s a lot of different strategy you can employ with skipping Braeburn or skipping Carmacks or how you’re gonna run," he says, "and I think none of us want to let each other out of our sights because we don’t know how fast each other’s gonna run.”
Mushers can choose to take a mandatory four hour layover in Braeburn or Carmacks. Warm temperatures and snow in the forecast may also slow down the first part of the race. 2012 Champion Hugh Neff says he plans to hold his team back all; the way to Dawson City. "Then we’ll get down to business,” says Neff.
He says Allen Moore’s is the team to beat. After losing to Neff by 26 seconds in 2012, Moore built himself a lighter sled and is definitely hungry for a win, as is Lance Mackey.
Both dog teams pulled into the Braeburn checkpoint within an hour of each other, tails wagging wildly. Moore stuck to his plan and took his layover. Mackey also choose to rest, but moved around the dog yard furiously. “People will be doing all kinds of craziness between here and Fairbanks," says Mackey. "For now, we’re just gonna kinda ease into it and see how it plays out in the next couple days. We’ve got a nice field of competitors.” Mackey says he’ll take his layover in Carmacks, where he hopes to catch Hugh Neff.