The Lake Minnetonka Klondike Dog Derby will not be run in 2024; it has been canceled because of warm winter weather.
Lake Minnetonka Klondike Dog Derby canceled
"As it turns out, we're not letting the dogs out this year," race organizers said in a Facebook post.
January 4, 2024 at 9:43PM
The news follows the cancellation of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon earlier this week for the same reason. The Klondike Dog Derby is a much shorter race — 40 miles, compared to the 400 miles of Beargrease — but the Lake Minnetonka event has drawn mushers from across the U.S. and Canada, and it has lured crowds to Excelsior since the race's revival in 2020.
It has been too warm to make a safe course, race organizers said.
"Given current conditions and long-range weather forecasts, we've determined it is in the best interest of mushers who planned to race this year, our sponsors, and our volunteers to cancel at this time," said Bethany Hway, the race's director, in a post on Facebook.
"While Minnesota could still give us sub-zero temperatures needed to freeze the lake quickly, plus snow needed to make a trail for the dogs, the odds are not in our favor," Hway wrote.
One part of the annual event is still on: The Derby's Cutest Puppy Contest is scheduled for the afternoon of Feb. 3 at Excelsior Brewing Company.
