It's Governor's Cup weekend and the Green and Gold are in a great position to win.

Not the hockey team. The Streeper dog team.

Sporting the same colors as UAA, Blayne Streeper of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, holds a 33-second lead over Arleigh Reynolds of Salcha in a bid for his sixth overall and fourth consecutive Fur Rendezvous World Sled Dog Championship.

Streeper, who drives a dog truck painted green and yellow and wears a green jacket over a yellow hoodie, is in a commanding position compared to where he was a year ago when he trailed Bill Kornmuller by a little more than two minutes before earning a come-from-behind victory in the final heat.

After trailing by two seconds Friday, Reynolds again had the second-fastest run of the day Saturday, but lost an additional 31 seconds to Streeper.

"Buddy is the favorite; he's got a strong team," Reynolds said, using the nickname Streeper went by as a youth. "But anything can happen. Thirty-three seconds is a hiccup out there."

Reynolds was slowed by a couple of hiccups himself Saturday. He had difficulty passing Egil Ellis on the steep Cordova hill and lost time with a dog tangle that a fan along the course helped him straighten out.

"There were a couple of glitches," Reynolds said. "I lost 20 or 30 seconds there. I'm real pleased with the way the team is running; it seems like they were getting stronger."

Reynolds and Bill Kornmuller produced an exciting finish, racing side-by-side over the final few blocks with an excited crowd cheering them on. "That was fun," Reynolds said. "Bill's a great racer."

Teams leave in reverse order of their total times in today's third and final 25-mile heat, meaning Streeper will be able to get updates on Reynolds and the other contenders by listening to the race broadcast on KHAR radio.

"I'm in the driver's seat," said Streeper, 28. "They'll set the bar and I'll try to meet or exceed it."

Streeper's time of 1 hour, 31 minutes, 28 seconds was 21 seconds slower than his Friday clocking. His total time is 3:03:17, with Reynolds at 3:03:50, Jason Dunlap third at 3:04:47 and Kornmuller fourth at 3:09:53.

Rondy Notes

• Will Kornmuller's team didn't have to work as hard as others going down the stretch to the finish. The 21-year-old musher stepped off his sled and did an all-out sprint alongside the runners for the final two blocks.

• Salcha is well represented in the Rondy with Reynolds, Dunlap and Gary Markley (16th). Miss Fur Rondy, Jessica Kazmierczak, is also from Salcha.

• The Fur Rendezvous royalty court was missing a member when it came out to watch the mushers cross the finish line. Princess Courtney Moore of Tanana is in the race -- and finished her Saturday run wearing a tiara. Moore, who was slowed by a moose on the trail Friday, is in 23rd place.

• Rookie John Hanson went out first Saturday after having Friday's slowest time and never trailed, cutting his first-day time by nine minutes. "I was waiting for somebody to pass me, but nobody did," said Hanson, who is from New Stuyahok and had a large cheering section. "This was a lot better than yesterday."