Day two of the second annual Myopia Sled Dog Races at Appleton Farms on Sunday was near-perfect for spectators, who turned out in the thousands to watch and marvel at the dogs in action.

More than 70 race teams from across the region entered the competition, which was boosted by more than a foot of snow dumped by the blizzard last Wednesday.

Some of the seasoned but youthful drivers included teens Lis Bailey, her younger sister Grace Bailey, and their friend Lily Stewart. All three girls race for the K-Teris Kennel in Strafford, N.H.

Both Bailey sisters were in first place in their respective races after the first day.

"It's a two-day race so it's combined times," explained Lis. "It means you can move up a place or lose a place."

The girls compete in sled dog races throughout the winter, including in Canada. They travel with their dogs in a truck that includes sleeping quarters in the cab for the mushers, while the dogs sleep in their kennels in back.

Lis Bailey said the weather this weekend was warm enough so that she didn't have to wear a mask, and the warmer conditions didn't affect the dogs too much.

"It is a really fun course," she said. "It's winding, it's through the woods, it's up and down. It's pretty. A lot of scenery."

Stefani Meyer came from Garfield, N.J. to race in a one-dog event with her three-and-a-half year old Siberian Husky, Filou.

"Filou" is a word used in Meyer's native Germany to mean "troublemaker," Meyer said.

"A 'filou' is a young man who wraps girls around his little finger, he's in this trouble, he's in that trouble, and always with a smile," she said. "That just fits perfectly to him."

The Myopia Sled Dog Races were organized last year for the first time since the 1960s, and included an 11-mile open race named in honor of local legend Norman Vaughan, the Hamilton native who joined the Byrd expedition to the South Pole in 1928.

Co-organizer Denny Ryus said the weekend was a great success due to the fortunate conditions, not to mention the help of local volunteers and event sponsors.

"It has built from last year," Ryus said. "We had thousands of people here at the staging area, another thousand out on the trail watching the races. We're very lucky and very pleased."

Race-day volunteer Chris Jones of Wenham was setting up a table of trail maps, pins, caps and tee-shirts for sale at the official Myopia Sled Dog Races tent early Sunday morning.

Jones, a cancer survivor, said he attended the races last year with friends as he recovered from treatment.

"It was a blessed day. I don't want to get all religious, but it felt like a blessed day," Jones said.