IditaProject Forum

http://www.ktva.com/iditarod-45-breakdo ... money-960/

Place Prize Musher
1st $71,250.00 Mitch Seavey
2nd $59,637.00 Dallas Seavey
3rd $54,862.00 Nicolas Petit
4th $49,234.00 Joar Leifseth Ulsom
5th $45,100.00 Jessie Royer
6th $38,190.00 Wade Marrs
7th $35,910.00 Ray Redington, Jr.
8th $33,700.00 Aliy Zirkle
9th $31,564.00 Pete Kaiser
10th $29,498.00 Paul Gebhardt
11th $27,503.00 Jeff King
12th $25,650.00 Ramey Smyth
13th $23,798.00 Michelle Phillips
14th $22,088.00 Ryan Redington
15th $20,378.00 Hans Gatt
16th $18,739.00 Ralph Johannessen
17th $17,171.00 Ken Anderson
18th $15,746.00 John Baker
19th $14,321.00 Katherine Keith
20th $12,896.00 Linwood Fielder
21st $11,614.00 Jason Mackey
22nd $10,403.00 Robert Redington
23rd $9,191.00 Sebastian Vergnaud
24th $8,051.00 Richie Diehl
25th $6,911.00 Mats Pettersson
26th $5,771.00 Lars Monsen
27th $4,774.00 Hugh Neff
28th $3,776.00 Rick Casillo
29th $2,850.00 Noah Burmeister
30th $1,924.00 Cody Strathe

Last year first took home $75,000 and second $62,000 so that is a bit of a drop.
I had heard a rumor that they didn't do as well in the iditarider auction as they had hoped. Seems like either their revenue this year was down or expenses up as compared to last year.

So might ITC consider this to be an opportunity to examine their policies and perhaps try something different? Or will they just hunker down in their bunker and continue with the same old "my way or the highway" attitude? We will never know since ITC does not provide meaningful and transparent disclosure of their deliberations, even to the dues-paying ITC members.

My guess is that we will experience a continuation of the same old policy of providing less information to the fans that support the race and dictatorial control of the mushers and kennels that actually "race" from wherever to Nome.

The goose that lays the golden eggs is endangered. But those are just my personal thoughts.

Don't forget maybe reevaluating their saleries. I can't tell you exactly but I believe Stan makes 167,000. There has been quite a bit of controversy over the saleries of the upper level management.

Follow the money. How much is paid each year to produce the videos and trackers? Insider Videos and the Tracker are both valuable, but also very expensive. I believe Trackers can be provided cheaper and better, and much more fan-friendly if provided by an out-of-house contractor instead of paying for an in-house product that provides an inferior experience for the fans.

It is very expensive (in money, time and energy) to stage this Event which is very complicated with many challenges. Professionals do not and should not work cheaply -- and shouldn't be expected to. Managing the number of volunteers involved is itself a complicated challenge. It is amazing that ITC pulls this off each year and they are to be commended for doing that.

With that being said, I believe that the budget can be and should be better managed. I believe the "Insiders" would happily pay the fees being charged just for informative and entertaining content, without paying for "award-winning" production values to enhance someone's product portfolio. I believe that professionally-operated Go-Pro and Drone cameras at strategic locations with knowledgeable and thoughtful announcers describing the action being broadcast would satisfy the paying audience and cost ITC less to produce -- hopefully providing a larger pool of money for the mushers who complete the race.

Again, just my thoughts.

After Mitch Seavey won, Exxon presented him with the big fake check and it was for $75,000. Should it have been the lesser amount?

StarDancer

Are there any kind of tax on such income as this in US?

Yes, Mira. The awards for races are considered to be "earned income" for Federal Income Tax, however the expenses incurred can be deducted from the earned income to determine "taxable income" -- kennel expenses, travel expenses, entry fees, etc. I think there are very few kennels with significant net taxable income.