Yukon Quest upholds decision to ban musher Hugh Neff

Musher Hugh Neff is definitely out of the 2019 Yukon Questafter he failed to convince a review board that he should be allowed to compete.

The two-time Quest champ from Alaska had requested an informalhearing with race officials, after he was barred in April from competing in the sled dog racenext year.

Thatdecision to censure Neff was related to thedeath of one of his dogs namedBoppyduring the 2018 race in February. A necropsy found the dog had a number of health issues, and race officials citeda "lack of dog care" on Neff'spart.

According to a Yukon Quest news release on Tuesday, Neff's hearing was held before a third-party review board in Fairbanks, Alaska, on June 14 and 20. Race officials had earlier said it was not a formalappeal process.

John Dixon, the race's board president for Alaska, said the review board was comprised of three volunteerswho were selected by race officialswith some input from Neff.

"We had more than we needed, so then [Neff]had the opportunity to choose who he might want to have on the board, and not," he said.

"We had one dog musher, one veterinarian, and then another community member that was sort of new to the dog mushing world, just, you know, to add some impartiality."

The hearing was held behind closed doors, so Dixon could not say how Nefftried with no success to make his case.

"After two days of confidential testimony, the review board concluded that Hugh Neffdid not provide clear and convincing evidence to overturn the censure," states the Yukon Quest's news release.

The review board voted unanimously to uphold the earlier decision to barNefffrom competingin2019.

A first for the Yukon Quest

Dixon said theindependent review board was a first for the race.

"We wanted to put together a process that was fair to Hugh. Not only to Hugh, but to the race also," he said.

"I think we have a good model now going forward, for how we might handle these informal hearings. Certainly I hope that we don't have to use this process often, or ever again."

Besides being barred from next year's race, Neffis now requiredto run the shorterYQ300 race at least once before again entering the 1,600-kilometre race. The earliest he could compete in the YQ300is in 2020.

Neffhas competed in the Yukon Quest 17 times, and won the race twice.