This article will answer every question you have about Lance Mackey. Below are some of the frequently asked questions about him.
- What does Lance Mackey do for a living?
- Who are Lance Mackey’s parents and siblings?
- What are Lance Mackey’s interests and hobbies?
- Is Lance Mackey married or does he have a girlfriend/ boyfriend?
- Does Lance Mackey have any children?
- Where is Lance Mackey now?
- How tall is Lance Mackey?
- How much money does Lance Mackey earn?
- What is Lance Mackey’s net worth?
N/B: Please read the entire post to have all your questions answered.
Who is Lance Mackey?
Lance Mackey was a well-known dog musher and dog sled racer from Fairbanks, Alaska. He was a four-time winner of both the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Yukon Quest and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Lance Mackey Career
Mackey’s career as a sled dog musher started with his initial appearance in the 2001 Iditarod. He placed 36th out of 57 who completed the race, receiving a mere $1046.00. He had quickly moved up the ranks to become the first person to win both the Yukon Quest and Iditarod in the same year in 2007. Mackey went on to set high standards: in 2008, winning the Tustumena 200, followed by his 4th consecutive Yukon Quest victory and his 2nd Iditarod victory. The following year, he opted not to run the Yukon Quest and won his 3rd consecutive Iditarod in 2009.
In 2010, he rejoined the fray, completing 2nd in the Yukon Quest and also earning his 4th consecutive Iditarod victory. This was prior to sliding out of the top 10 in the 2011 race, much to the dismay of many news reporters. He was then unable to secure a place in the top 10 Iditarod finishers despite five different attempts following his 2011 win. The Iditarod revealed on May 7, 2020, that because of a failed drug test, Lance’s 21st place finish at the 2020 Iditarod would be vacated.
His urine sample taken in White Mountain, s standard operating procedure for the first thirty mushers arriving at the checkpoint, tested positive for methamphetamine. Following this setback, he did not take part in the 2021 Iditarod.
Kennel practices and dogs
Lance ran his kennel ”Comeback Kennel” on a 5-acre plot of land near Fairbanks, Alaska. The sixty-some dogs that Mackey maintained have bloodlines dating back to one of his most legendary dogs ”Zorro.” Zorro was born in 2000 and at one instance, his whole team consisted of Zorro’s offspring. However, Zorro’s career was halted following a snow-machine accident during the 2008 All-Alaskan Sweepstakes. While Zorro survived and regained the use of his legs following months of treatment, such as acupuncture and physical therapy, he was unable to compete again.
Some of his practices at his kennel were publicly criticized, especially the use of CBD treatment for his dogs. He defended his methods of care and argues that the use of CBD for sled dogs assists speed their recovery duration, in response to criticism. PETA criticized him in a public statement claiming the cruelty of dog racing. Their public criticism followed the death of two of his dogs because of unknown causes during the 2015 Iditarod.

How old is Lance Mackey?
Lance Mackey died at the age of 52, from throat cancer on September 7, 2022, having been born on June 2, 1970, in Anchorage, Alaska, the U.S. He shared his birthday with famous people including Wentworth Miller, Sergio Aguero, Justin Long, Dominic Cooper, Andy Cohen, AJ Styles, Jeanine Pirro, Tom Herman, Nikki Cox, and Chelsea Islan, among others.
Lance Mackey Family
Who are Lance Mackey’s parents?
Lance Mackey was born to his parents, Dick Mackey, and his wife into a family of dog mushers in Anchorage. His father was among the founders of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and also won the event by a one-second margin against Rick Swenson in 1978. His mother placed 4th in the Women’s North American Championships while seven months pregnant with him.
Mackey started racing in his childhood after he was built a sled by his father, who watched him grow old enough to hold on to it and join his first race, which he won. His parents, however, divorced when he was young, and lived with his mother for some time, Following being arrested many times for various charges, his mother finally sent him to live with his father at the Coldfoot Truckstop.
Does Lance Mackey have siblings?
Mackey was born to his parents into a family of four children. He has three siblings, a half-brother, Rick Mackey, brother Jason Mackey, and sister Kristin Mackey-Elief. Rick was also a dog musher and won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1983. Lance, Rick, and his father won the race on their sixth attempt while wearing bib No. 13.
Lance Mackey Education
Mackey had not shared any information about his academic background and qualifications with the media by the time of his death.
Lance Mackey Interests
Mackey began racing from a young age, in a family of racers. He had changed to a life of a fisherman, when he moved to live with his father, prior to finally returning to his calling as a dog sled musher. Lance was a dog lover, despite being a musher, and ran his kennel; ”Comeback Kennel” on a 5-acre plot of land near Fairbanks, Alaska. He maintained and took care of sixty dogs in his kennel.
Lance Mackey Spouse
Mackey had been married three times and divorced two times. His partner, Jenne Smith passed away tragically in an ATV accident on October 4, 2020. Together the couple had two children, who were under the age of five at the time of their mother’s death.
Lance Mackey Children
Mackey and his late partner, Smith have two children together, who were under the age of five at the time of the fatal accident. Together they had parented their two children, Atigun and Lozen.
Lance Mackey Height
Mackey had a well-built, athletic, and physically fit body adding up to a height of 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m) and a weight of 89 kg (196 lbs).
Illness, addiction, and death
Lance was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2001. However, he didn’t allow his diagnosis to impede his career and joined the 2002 Iditarod race, but would not complete the race. Because of complications from his cancer treatment, including a feeding tube, he was forced to quit the race and take a whole year off from racing to recover. Following radiation treatment that caused the degradation of his teeth, his cancer was deemed in remission.
Cancer is not the only illness that challenged him as he also suffered from Raynaud’s syndrome, a condition often caused by cold. This syndrome, which led to immense pain in his finger, caused him to voluntarily have his left index finger amputated. Mackey also struggled with addiction openly in his personal life.
Following testing positive for methamphetamine during the 2020 Iditarod, he revealed he would be checking himself into rehab. Lance has also spoken previously about his struggles with alcohol and cocaine. Later on September 7, 2022, he died of throat cancer at the age of 52. His death was announced by his kennel in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
Lance Mackey Net Worth
American dog musher and dog sled racer, Mackey was active from 2001 to 2021 in his career. He earned varying prizes in different races and had garnered an estimated net worth of approximately $1 million to $5 million as of his demise in 2022.