ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
David Sawatzky has scratched from this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
The 59-year-old Healy musher scratched at the checkpoint in McGrath Thursday morning.
Race officials say Sawatzky decided to scratch out of concern for his 13-dog dog team.
The race began with 66 teams at a ceremonial start in Anchorage Saturday. The competitive start began Sunday in Willow. Three mushers have scratched.
The 1,000-mile race across the Alaska wilderness will end sometime early next week in the frontier town of Nome, on the western coast.
Four-time winner Lance Mackey leads the race, and was the first musher into the checkpoint in the ghost-town of Iditarod Wednesday evening. Veteran musher Sonny Lindner and four-time winners Jeff King and Martin Buser also are into Iditarod.
