Iditarod musher John Baker won the Kuskokwim 300 race over the weekend (January 17th 2010).

The Kotzebue veteran took the title at the Alaskan event for the first time, finishing the race in just under 18 and a half hours with ten dogs.

He scooped the $20,000 (£12,300) top prize at the meeting, where his fellow Iditarod competitors Martin Buser and Lance Mackey finished second and third respectively.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported that the racers faced wind chills of minus 60 degrees C during the gruelling event.

Baker has been a musher for 15 years and runs a 35-dog kennel in his hometown.

The trio are now well on their way on the road to the Iditarod, which begins on March 6th 2010.

Mushers will tackle a course of over 1,000 miles between Anchorage and Nome at the Last Great Race.

Mackey, who has taken the title during the last three years, is expected to duel it out with the likes of Jeff King to make it four in a row.