2-time champ ineligible for 2019 Yukon Quest after dog death

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Two-time Yukon Quest champion Hugh Neff will be ineligible to run the 2019 race because of dog care issues revealed by a necropsy of his dog that died in this year’s race.

The race organization announced Tuesday morning that examiners found Neff’s dog Boppy died of aspiration pneumonia, but Boppy also had other health issues.

The necropsy found the 4-year-old Boppy to have mild stomach ulcers, moderate intestinal inflammation, mild whipworm infestation, skeletal muscle necrosis, severe weight loss and muscle wasting.

Boppy died in a cabin about 45 miles short of the Yukon Quest halfway point in Dawson City.

Neff will have 30 days to appeal the censure. He and his team won the 1,000-mile race in 2012 and 2016.

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