A dog has died in 37 of the 53 editions of the famous sled dog race, which spans more than 1,000 miles in Alaska.

Thanks to a lack of snow, this year’s edition of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race needed a new route across the Alaska wilderness. The course change adds more than 100 mile.

In a statement, race officials said the dog, named Ventana, was on rookie musher Daniel Klein’s team. Ventana collapsed roughly 8 miles outside of the Galena checkpoint, about a third of the way into the race. According to the statement, attempts to revive Ventana were unsuccessful.

Dane Baker in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Ala. on March 1, 2025 The world’s most famous sled dog race is longer than ever this year thanks to a lack of snow. This year’s Iditarod race,

The 2024 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race winner, six-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey, is not competing in this year’s race. That development, paired with the Official Restart being moved to Fairbanks, makes the 2025 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race feel even more wide open and unpredictable.