Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today will mark the 40th anniversary of the dog races in Yellowknife. First called the dog derby in 1955, the race then was 50 miles long and ran for only one day. That race was won by Yellowknife trapper Alfred Drygeese using the old toboggans and his regular team. His first prize winnings for that day was $50.

Over the next eight years, the Yellowknife dog derby evolved from 50 to 100 to 150 miles and became known as the Canadian Championship Dog Derby in 1962. Ray Beck Sr. won that race after having mushed all the way across Great Slave Lake from Fort Resolution, then back again after the race. This indicates the stamina of both the racing dogs and the mushers of the time. Incidently, Mr. Beck was here last year, and this year he's here as a spectator.

From 1968 to 1972, the derby fell into decline mainly from a lack of sponsorship and committee organization. But in 1972, the newly-formed Yellowknife Rotary Club undertook the running of this derby. This year will mark the 24th year of that undertaking.

In those past 23 years, we in the Rotary Club have seen many more improvements to this major racing event. Prize money has gone from bags of dog food and small cash awards to a total of some $32,000 in prize money, plus subsidiary prizes such as gas, dog food, trophy and other mementoes. This year's first prize will be $10,000.

The racing dogs, the sled and public interest have all changed. Dogs have become smaller now and bred for racing, not pulling the heavy loads they used to with the trappers. Mushers no longer use toboggans, they use specially designed racing sleds with teflon runners. But the biggest change is the amount of public interest shown in these races. Mushers from all over the Canada and the United States congregate here to race. Last year, we had a musher who originally was from Europe. This year, we have a lady from France who is the first really true European racer. She will be racing here using some sled dogs of one of the Beck racers.

In Europe, sled dog racing is a growing sport in the European Alps. There are even races now being held in the Andes Mountains of South America, all of which indicates the general...Sorry...