Jessie Holmes Wins Iditarod, Beals & Deeter Shine

0:00Anchorage stories, making news on March 19th. Jesse Holmes grabbed his second straight win in the 2026 I Didarade, the grueling 1,000 mile sled dog race ending in Nome. This rare repeat championship has only happened five other times in the event's 54-year history. He crossed the finish line late Tuesday, claiming the top prize money. Teams kept rolling in on Wednesday, battling for big shares of the purse. Veteran Travis Beals from Seward took second place around 2am. His career best after a dozen races. Fairbanks muster Jeff Deeter followed in third at 5.10am. His highest finish after starting at age 19. Beals credited a special push from his late mother, who he felt guided him past four teams on the final stretch along the bearing sea coast. Deeter called his result a surprise as he aimed low for a top 15 spot early on. Another strong finisher recently beat aggressive breast cancer and raved about her team's smooth rhythm on the trail. Low musher, Wade Mars hit 5th around 11am in his 13th I Didarade.

1:05The top 10 wrapped up with Matt Hall, Riley Dish, Laurel Eckland, Pete Kaiser and Michelle Phillips all arriving Wednesday. Meanwhile, two rookies are neck and neck for that honor over the last 77 miles. Four muskers have scratched so far, including a veteran after losing a dog near Elim. Dozens more teams are still pushing toward Nome, with personal records and purse payouts on the line.