Martin Buser has won his third Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Shortly after his team crossed the finish line, race officials said a fifth dog had died in the race.
Buser fisished the race at 7:31 p.m. (11:31 EST) Tuesday as a throng of cheering spectators crowded around the finish chute on Front Street in temperatures that hovered near zero.Buser finished the 1,100-mile race in nine days, eight hours, 31 minutes - slower than the nine-day, two-hour record set by 1995 champion Doug Swingley of Lincoln, Mont., who finished second this time.
Buser won $50,000 and a $38,000 truck.
About an hour before Buser reached Nome, musher Nicholas Pattaroni of Big Lake reached the Koyuk checkpoint with a dead dog. Race officials issued a news release announcing the death of Al, a 31/2-year-old male.
Pattaroni, who works as a handler for Buser, was driving a team of Buser's younger dogs. He was running his third Iditarod and had left the Koyuk checkpoint in 21st place.
Race veterinarians were unable to determine the cause of the dog's death.