difficult to acquire the necessary sponsors. In 1993, he placed 15th in 1,000 mi (1,600 km) Yukon Quest dog sled race. In 1999, he won the race from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Yukon, with a time of 11 days, 7 hours, and 31 minutes. His 1999 win was accompanied by the Dawson Award for being the first musher into Dawson City, Yukon, winning 4 oz of gold, the Kiwanis Award for being the first to cross the United States-Canada border, and the Major's Award for winning. His lead dog, Pretty Boy, won the Golden Harness. Brooks has also raced in the Kuskokwim 300, Copper Basin 300, Tour de Minto, Fire Plug Stakes, Sheep Creek Classic, and Henry Hahn 200. He won the Henry Han 200 in 1996, and placed 4th in the Kuskokwim 300 in the same year (also winning the Eddie Hoffman Humanitarian Award), but his primary goal is to win the Iditarod. According to Brooks, "living my dream and the love of working with my dogs", is the reason he races. Iditarod disqualification and suspension During the 2007 Iditarod, witnesses said they saw Brooks punch and kick some of his dogs and hit them with a ski pole when they refused to leave a checkpoint during a March 15, 2007, stage in Golovin, Alaska, less than from the finish in Nome, Alaska. Brooks denies the more serious allegations, but acknowledged "spanking" the dogs in his team with a trail marking lath. One of Brooks‘ dogs died the day after the incident, but a necropsy could not determine why the dog died and race officials said there was no evidence that Brooks was to blame. On March 17, 2007, the judges voted unanimously to disqualify Brooks from the 2007 Iditarod. On May 18, 2007, the Iditarod Trail Committee Board of Directors announced that they had suspended Brooks for the 2008 and 2009 race, and following that, Brooks would be on probation for 3 years. Interviews of three adult and two child witnesses by an independent investigation team factored into the decision. Notes References "1993 Race Results". (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2006 from Yukon Quest, Information on Past Races site. "1996 Iditarod Mushers: B, The". (1996). Retrieved March 7, 2006 from See Alaska Online, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. "1999 Race Results". (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2006 from Yukon Quest, Information on Past Races site. Dillon, R. A. (October 19,