March 1, 2014 
Hi all! I”m going to be keeping a close eye on the 2014 Iditarod this year, and I’m prepared to offer my “Very Extremely Preliminary Top Ten Contenders List” on this eve before battle.
There is no way this makes any sense, picking winners & losers in a race this big before it even starts, but it’s fun so I hope you enjoy!
1–John Baker
2–Ramey Smyth
3–Jeff King
4–Dallas Seavey
5–Aliy Zirkle
6–Ken Anderson
7–Jake Berkowitz
8–Pete Kaiser
9–Mitch Seavey
10–Robert Sorlie
The astute will notice Baker & Smyth in the top two spots, just like the race played out in 2011–I have a strange sense that history is about to repeat itself.
Now, in all honesty, it’s not like I have any crystal ball; the reality is that there are over 20 drivers that could conceivably finish in the top 10 in this year’s race, and it’s almost impossible to accurately predict which of them is most likely to win, but it will be interesting to check this list against the final tally in the next ten or so days…
Here is a complete list of the field and their starting order: 2014 mushers
I’ll be posting again tomorrow, when the drivers are getting into Skwentna, so see you there!
Jason Barron's Blog 
Good stuff as always, Jason! Remembering too the great time I had helping handle for you at Willow in 2010!
Thanks a bunch for the kind words!
Hey, Jason! It’s great to see you back posting about the Iditarod! 🙂 I have great memories of you, Harmony, and the Littles visiting in Mt. Lake!! OK, seeing John Baker at the top makes me smile. I was just looking through the list of mushers today and wondered about his chances of getting back on top. With all the talk about poor trail conditions and warmer weather, I believe you’re right in predicting a seasoned, veteran musher to finish at the top. I’ll be watching along with you!
Hi Debby:) Yes, we too have many fond memories of our trip to MT. Lake–hopefully all is going well for you out there!
I’m definitely looking forward to watching this year’s Iditarod–I’m going to write about it (mostly) daily:)