I didn't really know squat about the race before yesterday, when I
started wondering and reading about it. But I have formed an opinion
based on what I've been able to find. And my opinion is that the race
should be changed, NOT stopped. And I believe these changes should be
initiated by the International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association,
not some external force or the law.
Snownose, thank you for bringing this out for discussion and education. You make some excellent points. 
I have some comments about some of what I have read in this thread:
HoundMusic
The death itself was an act of God - there was no negligence involved. It's a risky sport
I
disagree that it was an act of God. If that's the case, we could leave
our dogs out in the sun in Arizona to check their stamina and perseverance and claim the same. Pushing a dog to its physical limits and then claiming its death is an act of God is a bit of a cop out, IMO.
It IS a risky sport. One that
the dog doesn't sign up for. Sure they love to run. But do they love to
run all day, every day for 10 days in horrible, dangerous conditions? I
don't think we can make that determination. Wouldn't they prefer to curl up in front of a fire on or about day 3?
DrOgreys
Any human endeavor which involves our
unwilling, lesser creatures for the purpose of sport, entertainment, or
greed is indefensible.
Does that include agility?
Fly-ball? Showing dogs? Tracking, schutzhund and other dog sports? Who
makes the determination that the dog is "unwilling"? I was also heavily
involved the the Greyhound AR/PR (anti-racing/pro-racing) debate for a time. And, as usual, I ended up in the middle, neither AR nor PR. I
determined that some people really love their dogs and some really see
them as $$. But there's no doubt that those dogs love to run. You can't
push a greyhound down the track, just as I'm sure you can't push a husky down the trail.
dgriego
Greyhound racing is non dog people, using an
animal for the purpose of greed and gambeling, similar to dog fighting.
The owner or trainer has no repore with the dogs, they are
tools.
This is NOT true. You are grossly misinformed. I know plenty of racers who adore their dogs. Most do, actually. The AR "fanatics" in Greyhound racing are no more reliable than in any other dog sport. 
dgriego
IMO it is an insult to compare this type of racing to the racing of greyhound.
It's
actually very similar. The dog is being "used" to perform for sport,
entertainment and monetary gain, doing what the dogs love to do. Not
all owners take the best care of their dogs and when they can no longer
run, there are those questionable people who don't do right by the dog, but most owners take exceptional care of their animals. They put a lot of money into them and benefit from having healthy, happy dogs.
It's very similar.
The total Iditarod purse is nearly $1 million. The winner gets &70,000.
AgileGSD
It is risky and is risky for the humans as well.
But the humans sign up for the risk. They also sign up the dog. Surely you see this point? I would say that yes, the dogs love to run. But like my GSD, they might run to their detriment. I have to step in and say, "enough" when he's panting so hard and fast. I take this dog on as a responsibility and it's MY job to make sure he stays healthy, sometimes against his own judgment.
I don't buy that because the dogs love to run, that it's okay to take advantage of that trait and let them run to their death and then say, "Well, at least he was doing what he loved."
rwbeagles
the AR's are all over this one and they'll
move on to OTHER sports including those poor dogs being forced to
climb, jump, and tunnel against their wills.
This is a
very REAL possibility! TRUE AR people (very few of which I've seen here
and certainly not snownose) are bound and determined to save the
animals of the world from ever feeling any discomfort or hearing a
harsh word, much less doing anything that we might find in the least entertaining. That's not what I'm seeing here for the most part.
rwbeagles
Smart dog people stand together.
True, but smarter dog people police their own, to make outside intervention unnecessary and unjustified. We don't see dogs dying from agility.
AgileGSD
Why should it be stopped just because some
out of state people, who don't know a thing about mushing don't like
it?
Who here is saying it should be stopped? I don't personally think it should be stopped. I
think that would be a shame. But what does being out-of-state have to
do with anything? There are people in the deep South who think it's
nobody's damn business that they fight their dogs. Why should hog-dog
fighting be stopped just because some people from the North, who don't
know a thing about it, don't like it? Google hog-dog rodeo. It's all a
matter of perspective. Perhaps Alaskan people have a different
perspective on mushing, but I can tell you, I don't think much of a
race whose very fundamental nature and purpose is to run a dog in harsh conditions to test
its absolute limits.
Surely some changes could be made without damaging the integrity of the race:
- Put limits on the number of hours a team can run in any one day.
- Put limits on the total number of hours each dog can run
- Expand the time required for vet checks.
- Double up on the required extended layovers.
- Reward teams whose dogs have the best vet checks (as is done in Horse Endurance)
As I see it, there are MANY things that could be done that would improve the conditions of this race. I just don't know why people aren't willing to consider it and balk at the idea of slight changes as if PETA herself were taking over the world...
There's my 2 cents for what it's worth.