Animal-rights activists, long critical of the Iditarod, have also stepped up protests, citing the doping scandal as well as other mistreatment of dogs. Race organizers blame protesters for the loss of at least one large sponsorship.

On Saturday, protesters set up five mock graves to commemorate Iditarod dogs that died during last year’s race or immediately afterward. They hoisted signs that accused the mushers of cruelty.
“This is not this nice pretty little race,” said Canadian filmmaker Fern Levitt, director of a documentary critical of the Iditarod.