In 1973 the first Iditarod Dog sled race was held.  35 mushers took out and 22 finished.  Dick Wilmarth wins in 20 Days, 0 hours, 49 minutes, and 41 seconds.  Unfortunately  he never races again.  John Schultz finishes in 32 days which is still the slowest Iditarod finish. 

            In 1974 Carl Huntington wins in 20 days, 15 hours.  Joe and Joee Redington race and Joee (the son) finishes before father.  41% of the starters scratch.  In 75 Emmit Peters finishes in 14 days shattering Dicks’ record.  In 76 Jerry Riley wins in 18 days, but recieves the lowest purse ever, $7200.  Years later he will be banned from dog sledding for striking a dog with a snow hook.  In 77 Rick Swenson becomes the Iditarods’ youngest winner.  He goes on to win 5 more victories in 79, 81, 82, and 91.  In 78 Dick Mackey beats Swenson by just 1 second, and remains the closest margin of victory to this day.  Rookie Susan Butcher finishes in 19^th.  And William Nelson and all of his die in a plane crash on the way to the race.  In 80 25 racers scratch (a record), but Joe May wins in 14 days, but doesn’t break Peters’ record.  In 83 Larry Smith leads for most of the race, but is then caught by Rick Mackey (his father Dick won the Iditarod 5 years earlier making Rick and Dick the only father-son duo to win the Iditarod).  In 84 Dean Osmar wins the race in 12 days (a new record).  Susan Butcher finishes in a very close 2^nd, and Joe Garnie 3^rd.  85 was a new horizon for the Iditarod racers, when Libby Riddles becomes the first woman racer to win the Iditarod.  In a snow storm filled race she finishes in 18 days.  86 saw another woman winner in Susan Butcher.  This was the 1^st of 4 victories for her.  She won again in 87, 88, and 90, and remains the only racer to win it 3 years in a row.  In 89 Butcher leads for half the race but then gets passed by Joe Runyan, who wins by 68 minutes.  92 winner was Martin Buser who had finished in second the year before.  This was the first of three victories Buser would win in the 90’s, in 94, and 97, matched only by King who won in 93, 96, and 98.  95 saw a 2 records smashed, both by the same guy, Doug Swingley who became the first non-alaskan winner and also finished the race in record time, 9 days and 3 hours.  Which is still the record today.