CENTER TWP — Winning has become customary for Justin Eddy.

The 17-year-old Center Township resident and Butler High junior doesn't compete in football, basketball or baseball, however.

His sport of choice is sled dog racing — and he's pretty good at it.

“I've been doing it all my life,” he said. “I finish first or second in pretty much every event I'm in.”

Eddy learned the game from his mother, Cindy Eddy, who worked at a dog grooming facility years ago.

“When I was 18, a guy I was dating got me a husky,” Mrs. Eddy said. “The dog was destructive, it would run away. ... I needed to channel that energy. The dog needed to work.

“I learned about sled dog racing through my job. One thing led to another and I started doing it. Our kids grew up with it,” she added.

The Eddys have 16 dogs today, primarily Alaskan Huskies. They get them through a breeder in Massachusetts.

“We get Alaskan Huskies because they're built more for speed in terms of sled racing,” Justin Eddy said. “Siberian Huskies are more about endurance in terms of pulling a sled.”

The dogs are trained in “weight pulling” by pulling a bicycle or four-wheel cart. Sled dog races feature numerous divisions, including two-dog, four-dog, six-dog and eight-dog events.

The six-dog class involves races that are 5-miles long. The four-dog class uses races 2 to 3 miles in length.

The dogs are well-trained and enjoy racing.

“They love the work. They are very active animals,” Cindy Eddy said.

Justin Eddy finished first in the adult two-dog speed class at the Lake MetroParks Farmpark Challenge in Kirkland, Ohio, two weeks ago. He finished the 4.6-mile course in 13 minutes, 1 second.

This event was sanctioned by the International Sled Dog Racing Association. Eddy is one of 30 members of the Pennsylvania Sled Dog Club.

“I probably do 20 or so races a year,” Eddy said. “Plenty of states have them. This week, I'm going to Maryland.”

Eddy has traveled as far as New Hampshire to race. He said he usually takes eight dogs with him.

He's raced in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Massachusetts as well. Races generally cost $60 to enter. First place wins about $180.

“Considering the travel we do, the meals, the hotels, we don't do this for the money,” Cindy Eddy said. “It's fun to us.”

The Alaskan Huskies stay competitive for a number of years.

“The dogs can usually start racing before they're a year old and we'll retire them at age 13 or so,” he said. “They're still part of the team, though, and they still travel with us.

“If one dog gets hurt or something unusual happens, a retired dog can step in and run a race on occasion.”

Eddy's older brother, Austin, used to race and still helps out with the Eddy team. Their father, Ray Eddy, travels to the races as well.

“They help hold the dogs at the starting line,” Cindy Eddy said. “Ray is into drag racing. I go with him to the dragstrip during the summer, he comes with us to these.

“We're interested in each other's activities.”