We have a lot of mushers here who race their dogs in different towns and such. Most of them have huskie/shepherd or siberian/shepherd, even eskimo/shepherd. I wondered about that for a long time myself and happened to be talking to some of them once so I asked why that was.According to them they get more speed if they use the crosses than if they use purebreds. I really don't know if it's true but they did seem serious. They were saying it makes for a hardier and faster dog.