Sled Dog Derby Cancelled Due to COVID-19

A long-running New Hampshire sled dog race has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, reports WCAX.

The Laconia World Championship Sled Dog Derby, which dates back to 1929, was scheduled to run from February 12th to the 14th, but has now been called off.

President of the Lakes Region Sled Dog Club, Jim Lyman, stated, “Everywhere we turned we couldn’t make it work because of COVID.” He went on to say that social distancing restrictions would have prohibited the event’s traditional spectator viewing areas.

The sustained closure of the US-Canada border to non-essential traffic also created a hurdle, as between half and two-thirds of the race’s mushers who compete in the open-class events hail from Quebec.

Prior to this year, the event had been cancelled 13 times since the 1980’s due to poor snow conditions.