Winnemucca Mule Races, Show and Draft Horse Challenge is held at Winnemucca

Winnemucca, Nevada

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 7,174 people, 2,736 households, and 1,824 families residing in the city. The population density was 867.5 people per square mile . There were 3,280 housing units at an average density of 396.6 per square mile...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, each spring and serves as the first leg of the American Mule Racing Association's triple crown. On June 3 and 4, 2006, the race became the first known athletic event involving animal clones. On June 3, the mule clones Idaho Gem

Idaho Gem

The mule Idaho Gem was the first equine and first cloned mule.He resulted from the collaboration of Dr. Gordon Woods and Dr. Dirk Vanderwall of the Northwest Equine Reproduction Laboratory at the University of Idaho and Dr. Ken White of Utah State University...

and Idaho Star won their first races, trials for the Humboldt Futurity. In the Futurity on June 4, Idaho Gem finished fourth and Idaho Star finished seventh among the field of eight starters.

The 2011 races were cancelled because of an outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) in several western states.