| Summary: | Alaskans Trains Drops For Races: Prepare For Annual Sled Derby -- Plan Winter Events. Alaskans Trains Drops For Races. Prepare for Annual Sled Derby—Plan Winter Events. FAIRBANKS, Alaska, March 1. (/P)—Alaskan dog drivers cracked whips today, training their fleet sled teams for the 10th annual Fairbanks ice carnival derby March 11 to 14. Julien A. Hurley, attorney and dog breeding enthusiast, said pre-race conditions are good for breaking the "College loop" course record—established in 1931 when Walter Nollner, Galena native, drove his team the 16 miles in 1 hour 11 minutes. Winner Holds Record. The Alaska record for 16 miles is credited to Bob Buzby, three times Fairbanks derby winner at varying distances, who drove the 16-mile Tanana course in 1 hour 5 minutes 9 seconds to win the H. Wendell Endicott race of 1933. Last year's Fairbanks derby winner—when the race was run in three daily heats of 30 miles each instead of this year's 16—was Bob Allen, a native youth from Ruby, whose cross-bred team made a total time of 6:41.41, a world record for the 90 miles. His fastest heat, the first, was 2:6.30, five minutes faster than any sled dogs ever covered 30 miles in previous official competitions. He took $1500 prize money home to the lower Yukon. Prizes Every Day. Daily prizes are offered for win, place and show plus special prizes for best aggregate time for the three days, and special prizes for the teams in best physical condition. In addition to the dog races, there will be hockey, curling, skiing and other winter sports competitions during Fairbanks' annual show season "open house" to Alaskans and Yukoners. But the sled dogs are the big feature, as they have been throughout Alaskan history because, until the airplane came, the sled dogs were the northland's most common and characteristic means of transportation.
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