kaleb

steet,kari,baltoseppa or anybody , how many dog sled races does balto run

baltoseppala

The real Balto probably never ran in a race...either the
great Alaska Sweepstakes Races (which ended, for a long
time, about five years before he was born...the last was run
in 1917, because of WWI, until starting up again just in the
last few years)...or the Nome-to-Candle Races.

You see...Balto was viewed as what was known, then, as a
"B" dog by his owner, Leonhard Seppala. "B" dogs were
always thought of as being good only for freighting and scrap
work, not racing. And they were always neutered (or spayed, in the case of females).

Seppala had quite the irascible personality...which means
that he was gruff, opinionated, and very blunt. When he
didn't like a dog (even one he owned, in his own kennels),
he was quite plain about it. And he never liked Balto very
much. This low opinion sank even lower after Balto received
all the press at the end of the Serum Run in 1925, when Togo
(one of Seppala's legendary racing leaders, and a heroic
worker even before the Serum Run) received almost none - at
least until after he made a fuss about it.

While Balto was not a racer, and never really had a chance to
prove himself until the Serum Run, he certainly
didn't deserve the terribly low opinions and hatred that
Leonhard Seppala reserved for him. Balto may not have been
the sleek racing dog that Togo was, but he was still a good
dog who did what he did best...and he did it well. And when the time came, even if his musher (Gunnar Kaasen, who LIKED Balto) decided to place Balto up in the lead position against Seppala's wishes (and without his consent...Seppala having already left Nome a couple of days before Kaasen did), Balto proved himself to be a smart, reliable leader...and faced much of the same environmental hazards which Togo did (only over a much shorter distance than Togo).

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Last comments

Guest	October 30, 2006

Always happy to help when I can!

Writewol f	October 30, 2006

woah, lot of info for that one great answer Baltoseppala!

Guest	October 30, 2006

The real Balto probably never ran in a race...either the great Alaska Sweepstakes Races (which ended, for a long time, about five years before he was born...the last was run in 1917, because of WWI, until starting up again just in the last few years)...or the Nome-to-Candle Races. You see...Balto was viewed as what was known, then, as a "B" dog by his owner, Leonhard Seppala. "B" dogs were always thought of as being good only for freighting and scrap work, not racing. And they were always neutered (or spayed, in the case of females). Seppala had quite the irascible personality...which means that he was gruff, opinionated, and very blunt. When he didn't like a dog (even one he owned, in his own kennels), he was quite plain about it. And he never liked Balto very much. This low opinion sank even lower after Balto received all the press at the end of the Serum Run in 1925, when Togo (one of Seppala's legendary racing leaders, and a heroic worker even before the Serum Run) received almost none - at least until after he made a fuss about it. While Balto was not a racer, and never really had a chance to prove himself until the Serum Run, he certainly didn't deserve the terribly low opinions and hatred that Leonhard Seppala reserved for him. Balto may not have been the sleek racing dog that Togo was, but he was still a good dog who did what he did best...and he did it well. And when the time came, even if his musher (Gunnar Kaasen, who LIKED Balto) decided to place Balto up in the lead position against Seppala's wishes (and without his consent...Seppala having already left Nome a couple of days before Kaasen did), Balto proved himself to be a smart, reliable leader...and faced much of the same environmental hazards which Togo did (only over a much shorter distance than Togo).

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