Mackey wins Iditarod again

For the second year in a row, the Fairbanks musher, a cancer survivor, has won the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest and 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race -- within a month of each other.

And using most of the same dogs.

"I'm not much to brag very often, but damn, I'm going to this time," Mackey said afterward. "I don't know how exactly to explain it. I'm just blessed with an incredible dog team."

This time Mackey won with frostbitten feet, thanks to 40-below temperatures he endured during the Yukon Quest, which starkly contrasted unseasonably warm conditions on the Iditarod trail.

He was without Hobo, his swift and powerful lead dog, who was dropped early for fighting with Larry, another husky who completed the race with a crack in his foot.

Further, a female dog on the team was in heat, creating confusion on the trail. "So that's what we're dealing with," Mackey told reporters before entering the home stretch.

Mackey, 37, glided into Nome amid a mob of fans Wednesday at 2:46 a.m., followed more than an hour later by runner-up Jeff King, one of only four mushers to win the Iditarod at least four times.

Surprisingly, Mackey was able to outsmart the wily veteran who had, for much of the late going, been threatening to take and hold the lead.

The outcome was determined when Mackey, who survived throat cancer after an operation to remove his salivary glands, announced checkmate with a stunt pulled at the Elim checkpoint 123 miles from the finish.

Mackey arrived three minutes ahead of King, pretended to lay down for a nap and asked volunteers to wake him in an hour.

A weary King viewed this an opportunity for a brief nap also, but his downfall was his snoring. Knowing King was soundly asleep, Mackey got up and left -- and opened an hourlong lead.

"He baited me to sleep," a beleaguered Kind said. He "was waiting until I closed my eyes."

Mackey's time on the trail: 9 days 11 hours 46 minutes 48 seconds. Which is about half the amount of sleep he'll require to recharge his fatigued body.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.