The changes, less than a month before the start of sign-ups for next year’s race, also include reducing the maximum number of dogs mushers can start the race with from 16 to 14.
Neff has refused to be interviewed but broke his silence with a video statement Thursday.
Tests revealed that Hugh Neff’s dog Boppy suffered from preventable health issues before the 2018 race.
The report to the Iditarod Trail Committee Board of Directors came after a year of controversy for the annual sled dog race, much of it centering on drug testing.
Dick Wilmarth's daughter described the mushing gold miner as a hardworking and humble man who sought “spontaneous adventure.”
The 2018 special awards were presented at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race awards banquet in Nome Sunday.
Jim Lanier, the oldest musher in this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, was already feeling weak. Then he lost the trail.
Experience the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from above as we take you from Anchorage to Nome, checkpoint to checkpoint.
Magnus Kaltenborn was the final musher to cross the finish line in Nome, claiming the Red Lantern award.
Jim Lanier and Scott Janssen both scratched at the Safety checkpoint. Janssen hung back to help Lanier, officials said.
Steve Watkins and Tara Cicatello, who were vying for the Red Lantern award when they reached Unalakleet on Thursday, were 90 miles behind the race's next-slowest mushers.
The 5-year-old dog from Katherine Keith's team was being treated for signs of pneumonia, race officials said.
Holmes, a 36-year-old from Nenana, reached Nome at 2:39 p.m. in seventh place to claim Rookie of the Year honors.
Joar Leifseth Ulsom, a Norwegian who has been a top contender since his rookie run in 2013, claimed the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race championship early Wednesday.
When Leifseth Ulsom crossed the finish line, his father and girlfriend greeted him. So did his childhood idol, two-time race champion and fellow Norwegian Robert Sorlie.
After a surprising reversal of fortunes late in the race, the 31-year-old musher has a comfortable lead in the 1,000-mile race as he nears the finish line in Nome.
Curious about the 2018 Iditarod leader? In this video in White Mountain today, Norwegian racer Joar Leifseth Ulsom describes how he started sled dog racing and his development as a musher.
Allen Moore is the third musher to drop out, or "scratch," so far Tuesday. Wade Marrs, who has finished in the top 10 of the last three Iditarods, and rookie Tom Schonberger are also headed home.
Joar Leifseth Ulsom leads Nicolas Petit into the Norton Sound village as the race nears the home stretch.
After years of running at the front of the pack, 31-year-old Joar Leifseth Ulsom suddenly found himself alone in the Iditarod lead. Second-place Nicolas Petit arrived 3.5 hours later after losing the trail -- and the lead -- on the Bering Sea coast. "This race can be an emotional roller coaster," he said.
