Lance Mackey Obituary

Lance Mackey was an American dog muser and dog sled racer from Fairbanks, Alaska. Mackey was a four-time winner of both the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Lance Mackey’s career as a sled dog musher began with his first appearance in the 2001 Iditarod placing 36th out of the 57 who finished the race and winning a mere $1046.00.

On May 7, 2020, the Iditarod announced that due to a failed drug test, Lance Mackey’s 221st place finish at the 2020 Iditarod would be vacated.

Mackey’s urine sample taken in White Mountain, a standard operating procedure for the first thirty mushers arriving at the checkpoint, tested positive for methamphetamine. After this setback, Mackey did not participate in the 2021 Iditarod.

Mackey has been married three times and divorced twice. On October 4, 2020, Mackey’s partner, Jenne Smith, tragically died in an ATV accident. Mackey and Smith had parented two children, Atigun and Lozen, who were both under the age of five at the time of the accident.