JACKSON, Wyo. — This Friday, the annual Pedigree Stage Stop Race will kick off with lead sled dogs setting the pace for their seven-day race across Wyoming.
Each leg of the race will include a meet and greet with the mushers. Lead dogs not only set the pace, but keep the other dogs on the trail and respond to the musher’s commands of “gee” (right turn) and “haw” (left turn), according to the Pedigree Stage Stop Race.
Race festivities are set to begin on the Town Square at 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 26 with booths, giveaways and a laser light show. The first musher will leave the starting chute at 6:30 p.m., with an estimated finish of 8 p.m. for the dogs.
The Town of Jackson Public Works Department will be building a track for the race. The racecourse changed in 2023 and will remain the same as last year. The race will start at Cache and Broadway, with dog teams heading east on Broadway. The course will then proceed south on Willow, all the way to Snow King Avenue, and then mushers will turn west on Snow King, eventually finishing at the rodeo grounds.
The Streets Division may be hauling in snow to supplement existing snow on roadways, then grade and smooth the snow against the curbs to form the course. The Town of Jackson requests that drivers respect the road closure signs along the race route. Streets Manager for Public Works Sam Jewison told Buckrail that the street crew has a plan and the objective is safety.
“It gets pretty busy while building the racetrack,” Jewison said. “We just ask people to be patient with us. It’s usually pretty well orchestrated, we’ve done it so many times, and it goes pretty smooth.”
It is anticipated that the road closures will reopen by 9 p.m. on Friday evening.
Earlier on race day, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m, school children can come visit all the competing dogs during the vet check-in, which is located a block from Town Square. The dog teams will be checked for bodyscore, hydrations, heart and lungs, as well as range of motion. These dogs have had many months of training and the goal is to peak their performance at race time, according to the Pedigree Stage Stop Race.
The Town of Jackson Public Works department will begin construction of the racecourse starting early Friday morning, Jan. 25. Crews are sensitive to the hours of operation for this effort and will do their best to keep noise to a minimum.
