FAIRBANKS – A rookie-rich Yukon Quest 300 field departed Fairbanks a few hours behind their peers in the 1,000-mile edition Saturday.

The Quest 300, which takes place simultaneously with the longer, international version, will take mushers from Fairbanks to as far down the Quest trail as Circle, on the banks of the Yukon River.

Earlier in the week, race officials announced a reroute to the YQ300, removing the final section of the race that had mushers travelling beyond Circle, up the Yukon River and then backtracking to finish in Circle.

Instead, mushers will now turn around at Circle and race the 74 miles back to Central to finish. The new route will maintain roughly the same distance, according to officials.

The change was made because of concerns about jumble ice on the Yukon River.

This year’s YQ300 features a crowded field of 23 mushers, as well as an unusually long list of rookies: 18 of them.

Though the 2016 Quest 300 consists mostly of mushers who have never competed in the race, there are still many names that will be familiar to followers of sled dog racing.

Father and son duo Jason and Patrick Mackey are both competing in their first Quest 300, though the Mackeys are no strangers to distance mushing. Jason said he and his son are ready to compete with a pair of strong teams.

“They’re certainly, as a whole, the nicest (team) I’ve had ever,” said Jason Mackey, 44. “I’m excited about them, but I’m excited about them for Iditarod.”

Jason Mackey said he’ll be using the Quest 300 mostly as a training experience to prepare for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, in which he’ll be competing in March and which he has finished multiple times.

Father and son both raced the Kuskokwim 300 in January, keeping their two dog teams close together for the duration of the race. Jason Mackey said it’s possible they might attempt a similar strategy in the Quest 300, but they’re not married to the plan.

Patrick Mackey, 24, started the race about 15 minutes behind his father on Saturday. Jason Mackey said that if his son can make up the time to catch him, they’ll likely break camp together.

“I would like to run with him if I can, but I’m not waiting on him,” Jason Mackey said.

He won’t be the only musher in the field using the race as a practice for the Iditarod.

Frequent YQ300 favorite and former race winner Aliy Zirkle is racing a young team in the 300 this year, but she said there are a couple dogs on the team that might make her Iditarod squad.

Zirkle’s husband, Allen Moore, is racing the majority of the couple’s stronger dogs in the 1,000-mile Quest. In March, Zirkle will take those dogs from Moore to race in the Iditarod. She said two dogs on her Quest 300 team, Sandy and Chemo, might make the Iditarod team, though.

“I'm going to go in with youth and inexperience and hope I come out with a little more wisdom and experience,” Zirkle said. “I’m definitely going to race them, but it’s kind of going to be a determination with their youth how hard I can race them, and I’ll know that by, like, Circle, whether I push them back toward the finish line or dawdle a little bit.”

Zirkle drew the bib to start first. At press time today, she was ranked second to fellow Alaskan Jessie Holmes, who is on his way to the finish line.

Yukon Quest 300 start order

1. Aliy Zirkle
2. Otto Balogh
3. Chase Tingle
4. Joanna Jagow
5. Benjamin Good
6. Jason Mackey
7. Olaf Thurau
8. Ryne Olson
9. Mary Helwig
10. Dr. Joe Carson
11. Patrick Mackey
12. Jessie Holmes
13. Maliko Ubl
14. Fabian Schmitz
15. Shaynee Traska
16. Melissa Stewart
17. Tim Muto
18. Stephanie Ehlenfeldt
19. John Dixon
20. Lia Amundsen
21. Giordano Tarara
22. Josh Skerritt
23. Meredith Mapes

By WESTON MORROW
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner