FILE - In this March 15, 2016, file photo, Dallas Seavey poses with his lead dogs Reef, left, and Tide after finishing the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome, Alaska. Seavey won his third straight Iditarod, for his fourth overall title in the last five years. Four-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey denies he administered banned drugs to his dogs in this year's race, and has withdrawn from the 2018 race in protest. The Iditarod Trail Committee on Monday identified Seavey as the musher who had four dogs test positive for a banned opioid pain reliever after finishing the race last March in Nome. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)Mark Thiessen/Associated Press

4-Time Iditarod Champ Dallas Seavey Denies Giving Banned Drugs to Race Dogs

Joseph ZuckerOct 23, 2017

The Iditarod Trail Committee confirmed four of Dallas Seavey's dogs tested positive for Tramadol, a banned opioid pain reliever, the Associated Press' Rachel D'Oro reported Monday.

Seavey posted a statement on YouTube denying he gave four of his dogs a banned substance. He also said he has withdrawn from the 2018 Iditarod.

Seavey won the Iditarod in 2012 and then again in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

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In a statement on Oct. 9, the Iditarod Trail Committee announced it was amending its rules after "several dogs in a single musher's team in the 2017 Race tested positive for a prohibited substance." Under the previous rule, the organization had to demonstrate explicit intent by the musher. The new rule "now holds a musher strictly liable for any positive test."

The committee released a subsequent statement on Oct. 17 announcing the positive test for Tramadol. Urine samples had been collected six hours after the race finished in Nome, Alaska. The testing officials estimated the dogs received the banned substance "somewhere between 15 hours prior to, and up until" being tested after the race.

The ITC hadn't named Seavey and only did so after facing criticism from mushers who wanted Seavey identified, according to D'Oro, who noted racing teams are randomly drug tested before and during the Iditarod and that the top finishers expect to be tested when they complete the race.