The Iditarod Trail International Sled Dog Race is a 1,150-mile competition held in early March over Alaska’s frozen tundra from Anchorage to Nome. First run in 1973, the Iditarod re-creates the 1925 journey in which sled dog teams carried much needed diphtheria serum 674 miles from Nenana to Nome. It took twenty teams of sled dogs six days to transport the serum to Nome. In today’s lengthier race, under optimum conditions, the top teams of sixteen dogs run the race in less than ten days.

Some animal rights groups argue that the Iditarod and other sled dog races like it are not competitions, but a form of animal abuse. They cite the fact that thirty-two dogs have died running the Iditarod since 1990 and dozens more have dropped out due to injuries such as sore feet, sprains, fractures, and exhaustion...