The Latest: Defending champ leading in Alaska's Iditarod

The Latest: Defending champ leading in Alaska's Iditarod

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 2:13 a.m. ET

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) The Latest on the Iditarod Sled Dog Race (all times local):

11:30 a.m.

Defending champion Dallas Seavey is leading in Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, gunning for his fourth win in the nearly 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) contest, with his father the closest rival.

The younger Seavey left the checkpoint at the coastal village of Shaktoolik, 171 miles (275.19 kilometers) from the Nome finish line, mid-Sunday morning. As of late morning, his father, Mitch Seavey, was the only other musher to reach the village.

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Meanwhile, a 26-year-old man was set to appear in court Sunday afternoon following his arrest Saturday on allegations he intentionally drove a snowmobile into the teams of two other top mushers, killing one dog and injuring at least two other dogs. Arnold Demoski of the checkpoint village of Nulato (noo-LAH-toh) has said he was returning home from a night of drinking when he struck the teams.

The incident prompted the Nulato Tribal Council to issue a statement Saturday, saying it was ''disturbed and saddened'' by the incident and offering condolences to the mushers.

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