The late Joe Redington, godfather of the modern Iditarod Trail, always feared the iron dog might one day transcend his beloved Alaska husky. Redington had cemented his place in Alaska history by helping to bring the largely abandoned mail trail back to life in the 1970s to steer the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race 1,000 miles north from Anchorage to Nome. The Iditarod race was Redington's passion.

It was an event he promoted, as he repeated many times over the years, to save the Alaska sled dog from extinction at the hands of the newer, faster, notably more efficient internal combustion engine. Redington's dream proved hugely successful. The Iditarod race grew from humble beginnings into a multimillion-dollar sporting event known worldwide.

Now, though, with the global economy in disarray and the interests of a new generation shifting toward X-Games-style events, the Iditarod is struggling, and iron dogs are once again bearing down on the heirs to Redington's sled dogs. Short nearly $1 million in anticipated funding, the Iditarod is slashing budgets, revamping fundraising efforts and struggling toward the March 6 start of the race in downtown Anchorage.

Meanwhile, the 2,000-mile Tesoro Iron Dog is powering forward. Financially healthy and stable, the Feb. 21 race that follows the Iditarod north from Big Lake to Nome before turning toward Fairbanks is looking toward a rosy future.

"Financially we're fine,'' said Iron Dog executive director Laura Bedard, but she scoffs at the idea Iron Dog might one day overtake Iditarod as Alaska's top sporting event.

"Iditarod's purse is about equal to our entire budget,'' she said. Still, the Iron Dog is growing and, as Bedard points out, "our main audience is under 30.''

That puts Iron Dog fans in a demographic that appeals to potential sponsors with something to sell. And for Iron Dog, there are obvious sales connections: snowmobiles, fuel, lubricants, helmets, goggles, winter clothing -- the list goes on and on. All over North America, people can identify with an Iron Dog marketing pitch, because all over North America snowmobiling is familiar and popular.

Not so for sled dog racing, though recreational dog mushing has grown and spread over the years. Still, what the Iditarod mainly has to sell is a special mystique, something not so easy to package, and, for businesses in Alaska, a lot of goodwill. The Iditarod is revered in the 49th state and recognized worldwide.

The Iron Dog and the ‘First Dude'

As a marketable brand name of the north, "Iditarod'' is second only to "Alaska,'' although this might be changing with the artful marketing of newcomer Palin, Inc. Only a couple years ago that operation was best known in-state for the Iron Dog racing victories of patriarch Todd Palin.

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Then along came Sarah.