2003 Daily Results

DAY 2

Holdman Posts Fastest Time in Stage Two of International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race

Jackson, Wyoming—January 26, 2003—Gwen Holdman from Fairbanks, Alaska, had the fastest time in stage two of the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race (IPSSSDR), with 4:01:47.  Sam Perrino from Yellowknife, NWT, came in second with a time of 4:01:49; followed by Jacques Philip from Nenana, Alaska, with 4:02:52.

Holdman also holds the best cumulative time of 4:12:14; followed by Perrino with 4:13:09.  Philip is third with 4:13:55.

Directly after the Dubois stage, teams drove to Lander for the Lander Banquet at the Community Center at 6:00 p.m.  Entertainment will be provided by the Native American Eagle Spirit Dancers. 

Stage three, a 52-mile leg, begins Monday, January 27, 9:00 a.m. at Bruce’s Bridge in Sinks Canyon outside Lander.  Following stage three, teams will depart for Evanston.

New this year, the $100,000 purse is paid out in two ways.  $50,000 will be paid to the 15 overall race winners; plus, $50,000 will be paid in day money—split among the each of the eight days’ top five winners. According to Race Director Frank Teasley, “the day money allows teams who may not have a shot at the overall lead to take home prize money if they have an excellent day.”

Twenty-one teams are competing in the 2003 IPSSSDR—the largest sled dog race in the lower 48 states. The IPSSSDR began Saturday, January 25, in Jackson before traveling to Dubois.  With its unique “Stage Stop” racing format, the race stops in a different Wyoming community each night from January 25 through February 1, 2003. After Lander, the race continues on to Evanston, Mountain View, Lyman, Kemmerer/Diamondville, Alpine, and Pinedale before finishing at Teton Village in Jackson Hole. Each town hosts festivities for mushers and spectators ranging from junior dog sled races for children, dog parades and ice sculpture contests, to banquets, carnivals and fishing derbies.

The International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race was founded in 1996 by Frank Teasley, an Iditarod veteran who lives and works in Jackson Hole. Teasley’s goal was to make sled dog racing more accessible to the general public as well as to showcase the beautiful state of Wyoming. During the 2003 IPSSSDR, title sponsor Pedigree will host “Postcards from the Trail” with photographs posted on its web site, pedigree.com. Pedigree will make a donation to animal shelters for each visitor to the site during the race through its Homeward Bound program. For more information, visit the race website at  www.wyomingstagestop.org, or contact the race via e-mail at wystagestop@blissnet.com