South Fork Alder Ass Race – South Fork, CO 2026

Please join us for the 5th annual South Fork Alder Ass Race on Saturday, September 5, 2026! IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION: If you do not own your own burro, you must secure a rental burro before registering for the race. Burro rentals an additional fee separate from race registration. Please do not register until you have been officially matched with a burro. Each burro is carefully paired with runners based on pace and temperament- this is not first-come, first-served. Please do not make up a burro name during registration. Ghost Runners are the only exception and may register without a burro. A brief history of the donkeys that now run Pack Burro Races Donkeys first arrived on U.S. soil in 1784 as a royal gift from King Charles III of Spain to George Washington. By the 1800s, they were instrumental in building the American West, especially during the Gold Rush. When mining declined, many of these hardy animals were left behind. Burros adapted and survived in some of the most rug