Martin Buser leads Iditarod at Takotna

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Martin Buser, who holds the fastest time in the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, is leading the way on Wednesday, the fourth day across Alaska.

The race website shows the musher was first into the checkpoint late Tuesday at Takotna, 307 miles (494 kilometers) into the 1,150-mile (1,850-kilometer) race.

He was closely followed by defending champ and four-time winner Lance Mackey of Fairbanks, Sebastian Schnuelle of Whitehorse, Canada, and Hugh Neff of Tok.

Buser set the Iditarod record in 2002 with the first finish in under nine days.

The next leg of the trail to Nome is a remote area with checkpoints at the ghost town of Ophir, 328 miles (528 kilometers) from the start, and the abandoned mining town of Iditarod, 405 miles (650 kilometers) from Willow.