text: Of course, the dog could have received the tramadol after the dog crossed the finish line, which is perfectly acceptable under the Rules. Tramadol has a very short half life (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2442675/ ), and the dog was tested hours after it crossed the finish line. I'd like to see the research on sled dogs suggesting that the test employed can reliably determine the presence of tramadol in a sled dog's bloodstream six hours earlier, lol.  Reminds one that the bane of every DUI prosecution is the possibility that the driver had access to a bottle of whiskey for an hour between driving and arrest. Frankly, the Committee, as per usual, over-reacted and made a mess of things. Now mushers have to prove a negative? The only real problem here is that PETA et al are choking the prize money...  well, that might not be an entirely bad thing, either....