Cycling. Baseball. Track. Horse racing. Now dogsledding has become the latest professional sport to be engulfed in a doping scandal, this one involving the huskies that dash across the frozen landscape in AlaskaB次元官网网址檚 grueling, 1,000-mile Iditarod.

The governing board of the worldB次元官网网址檚 most famous sled dog race disclosed Monday that four dogs belonging to four-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey tested positive for a banned substance, the opioid painkiller Tramadol, after his second-place finish last March.

It was the first time since the race instituted drug testing in 1994 that a test came back positive.

Seavey strongly denied giving any banned substances to his dogs, suggesting instead that he may have been the victim of sabotage by another musher or an animal rights activist. He accused the Iditarod of lax security at dog-food drop-off points and other spots.

Race officials said he will not be punished because they were unable to prove he acted intentionally. That means he will keep his titles and his $59,000 in winnings this year.

But the finding was another blow to the Iditarod, which has seen the loss of major sponsors, numerous dog deaths, attacks on competitors and pressure from animal rights activists, who say huskies are run to death or left with severe infections and bloody paws.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals seized on the scandal Tuesday.

B次元官网网址淚f a member of the IditarodB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址榬oyaltyB次元官网网址� dopes dogs, how many other mushers are turning to opioids in order to force dogs to push through the pain?B次元官网网址� PETA said in a statement. It added: B次元官网网址淭his doping scandal is further proof that this race needs to end.B次元官网网址�

Fern Levitt, director of the documentary B次元官网网址淪led Dogs,B次元官网网址� an expose on the treatment of the huskies, said, B次元官网网址淭he race is all about winning and getting to the finish line despite the inhumane treatment towards the dogs.B次元官网网址�

Seavey won the annual Anchorage-to-Nome trek in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and has had nine straight top-10 finishes. He finished second this year to his father, Mitch, who collected a first-place prize of $71,250.

Dogs are subject to random testing before and during the race, and the first 20 teams to cross the finish line are all automatically tested.

B次元官网网址淚 did not give a drug to my dog. IB次元官网网址檝e never used a banned substance in the race,B次元官网网址� the 30-year-old Seavey said in an interview. He said Tramadol is not used at his kennel, and it is B次元官网网址渋ncredibly unlikelyB次元官网网址� it was accidentally administered by anyone on his team.

Instead, he complained of inadequate security at checkpoints along the route where dog food is dropped off weeks ahead of time and at the dog lot in Nome, where thousands of huskies are kept after the race before they are flown home.

B次元官网网址淯nfortunately I do think another musher is an option,B次元官网网址� he said. He added: B次元官网网址淭here are also people who are not fans of mushing as a whole. They are numerous videos out that are trying to say mushing is a bad thing. And I can see somebody doing this to promote their agenda.B次元官网网址�

Seavey said whoever gave the drug to the dogs knew it would cause a positive test, and B次元官网网址渢hat should make me and my people the least likely suspect.B次元官网网址�

Earlier this year, the Iditarod lost a major corporate backer, Wells Fargo, and race officials accused animal rights organizations of pressuring the bank and other sponsors with B次元官网网址渕anipulative informationB次元官网网址� about the treatment of the dogs.

Five dogs connected to this yearB次元官网网址檚 race died, bringing total deaths to more than 150 in the IditarodB次元官网网址檚 44-year history, according to PETAB次元官网网址檚 count. And last year, two mushers were attacked by a drunken man on a snowmobile in separate assaults near a remote village. One dog was killed and others were injured. The attacker was given a six-month sentence.

Seavey said he has withdrawn from next yearB次元官网网址檚 race in protest and expects the Iditarod Trail Committee to ban him anyway for speaking out. Mushers are prohibited from criticizing the race or sponsors. Iditarod spokesman Chas St. George said a ban would be up to the committeeB次元官网网址檚 board of directors.

The committee decided to release the name of the offending musher on Monday after scores of competitors demanded it do so. Race officials initially refused because, they said, it was unlikely they could prove the competitor acted intentionally and because a lawyer advised them not to make the name public.

At the time of this yearB次元官网网址檚 race, the rules on doping essentially said that to punish a musher, race officials had to provide proof of intent. The rules have since been changed to hold mushers liable for any positive drug test unless they can show something beyond their control happened.

Wade Marrs, president of the Iditarod Official Finishers Club, said he doesnB次元官网网址檛 believe Seavey intentionally administered the drugs to his animals. Marrs said he believes the musher has too much integrity and intelligence to do such a thing.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 really know what to think at the moment,B次元官网网址� Marrs said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a very touchy situation.B次元官网网址�