December 31, 2001-The International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race will host an auction on its web site, www.wyomingstagestop.org  powered by jacksonholenet.com, beginning Thursday, January 3 and closing at 12:00 noon (MST) on January 18, 2002. Mushing fans may bid to ride on any musher’s sled on the opening three-mile stage as the race leaves Jackson Hole, January 26, 2002. Opening bids will start at $500.

“The Iditarod has been very successful generating pre-race excitement with its Iditarider program,” said Race Director Frank Teasley. “We thought IPSSSDR supporters would appreciate the opportunity to experience the thrill of sled dog racing first hand with champions like Doug Swingley, Jacques Philip and Grant Beck.”

The largest sled dog race in the lower 48 states, the IPSSSDR is slated for January 26 through February 6, starting in Jackson Hole then traversing nearly 450 miles of Wyoming backcountry before ending in Teton Village. The first stage, a 3-mile run, begins at Jackson Hole’s Town Square and finishes at Cache Creek Canyon. Jackson Mayor Jeanne Jackson will drive the first sled out of town.

Thirty top international teams will run in the 2002 IPSSSDR including three-time Alpirod Champion Jacques Philip, Nenana, Alaska; 2000 IPSSSDR third place and 2001 IPSSSDR second place winner, Melanie Shirilla from Lincoln, Montana; International Sled Dog Racing Association Gold Medal Winner Joseph Loveless, Roy,Washington; and Grant Beck, Yellowknife NWT, ranked fourth in the International Federation of Sleddog Sports Mid-Distance World Cup Program.

Now in its seventh year, the IPSSSDR is the largest sled dog race in the lower 48 states and a qualifying event for the Iditarod. With its unique Stage Stop racing format, the race traverses through 12 Wyoming communities, stopping in a different town each night. The 2002 race begins in Jackson Hole, before traveling through Moran, Dubois, Pinedale, Lander, Atlantic City, Mountain View, Lyman, Evanston, Kemmerer/Diamondville, Alpine and returning to Jackson Hole.

The International Pedigree Stage Stop Dog Sled Race is a 401-C-3 nonprofit corporation. The race was founded in 1996 by Frank Teasley to make sled dog racing more accessible to the public. Jacksonholnet.com is the official web host for the IPSSSDR and Team Dog sponsor of the race. For more information, visit the race Website at www.wyomingstagestop.org, contact the race via e-mail at wystagestop@blissnet.com or call (307) 734-1163.