Not many males enter either. The majority are females.
There are indeed often around 1000 entries, though I don't tend to keep track of the numbers.
The contest just isn't organized very well. I don't know what would help it, but it's true that a lot of entries don't get the place that they really deserve.
And also, if anyone wants to help me out, I entered today's contest as well, as "Holiday Tigers." I was 44th last time I checked. (This will likely be the last contest I'm entering. I'm sick of the whole stupid thing.)