FILE - In this March 15, 2016 file photo, Dallas Seavey talks to officials after finishing the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome, Alaska. Seavey a four-time winner of Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race who was recently accused in a dog-doping scandal has signed up to participate in Norway's Finnmarkslopet race next year. The announcement, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, came weeks after Seavey withdrew from next year's 1,000-mile Iditarod. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Republished November 30, 2017 - 2:00 PM
Original Publication Date November 30, 2017 - 12:11 PM
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A four-time winner of Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race who was recently accused in a dog-doping scandal has signed up to participate in Norway's Finnmarkslopet race next year, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
The announcement came weeks after Dallas Seavey withdrew from next year's 1,000-mile (1,610 kilometres) Iditarod.
It will be Seavey's first sled dog race in Europe, said Elise Houren, a spokeswoman for the racer.
Seavey quit the Iditarod in protest over race organizers' handling of an investigation after four of his dogs tested positive for a banned substance following his second-place finish last March. Seavey denies the allegations.
More recently, animal-welfare investigators in Alaska said they found no evidence of animal cruelty after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals complained about a kennel operated by Seavey.
The Iditarod is held around the same time each year as the 745-mile (1,200 kilometres) Finnmarkslopet, which starts next year on March 9.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017