Money for everyone who finishes the 2017 Yukon Quest, organizers promise

All mushers who finish the upcoming 2017 Yukon Quest will win at least some money, now that organizers of the annual 1,000 mile race have raised the purse.

Early registration opens Saturday for next year's race, which will start next February in Whitehorse.

The starting purse for next year is now $120,000 up from $115,00 last year. In 2016, that was augmented by a further $10,000.

In 2017, the first 15 finishers will get a percentage of the prize money with additional earnings distributed evenly among all finishers.

Natalie Haltrich, the race's executive director, says the idea to reward everyone who finishesstarted with the mushers themselves.

"We have raised it by five grand, plain and simple," she said. "That's not a huge increase but for us it feels fantastic.

"The quest is a community-driven event we did an awesome job with fundraising, with merchandise sales, and sponsorship is so supportive. As a result we had a great year and we can afford to prudently increase our purse amounts."

In Whitehorse, early registration for the race is part of the Annual Yukon Quest BarkFest, which will include a barbecue, contests and presentations by veteran mushers.

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