FORT KENT — All systems were go Tuesday for the fourth running of the 250-mile Can-Am Crown Sled Dog Race which starts at 10:30 a.m. Saturday on Main Street.

Prior to the big race, more than 20 other sled dog teams will run in a 60-mile race from Fort Kent to St. Francis and back. The start of the shorter race will be at 9 a.m., also on Main Street.

The purse in the 250-mile race is $10,000, split among the top 10 finishers. In the 60-miler, mushers compete for a $3,000 purse.

Three weeks ago the weather wasn’t cooperating for the classic race that has been held annually since 1993. Most of northern Maine was bare of snow. Since then, several snowfalls have combined for nearly two feet of snow.

David Potter, chairman of the Can-Am Crown Sled Dog Race Association, said Tuesday, “Things are looking good. Trails have come together extremely well, despite the massive setbacks of three weeks ago.”

Other setbacks have also caused some concern for race organizers. Accidents have caused two major mushers to stay out of the race this year. Ian Peppler of Bruce Mines, Ontario, who was second in 1995, suffered a shoulder injury in a training accident, said Potter.

Another reported accident involved Russell O’Farrell of St. Malachie, Quebec, who came in third at Fort Kent in 1995. He reportedly lost five or six dogs when the team was struck by an automobile during a training run.

Also putting a dent in Fort Kent’s race is a Michigan sled dog race, the $20,000 Upper Peninsula 200, which is also run this weekend.

The Marmora 150, Fort Kent’s 250-mile race, and a 400-mile race in Labrador City next month are all part of an Eastern Triple Crown of Sled Dog Racing. The mushers and teams which picks up the most points in the three races compete for an extra $10,000 purse based on points earned in the three races.

Potter said the Fort Kent race is still in good shape. “We will be running with fewer teams, but we also have several veterans returning for the both the 250- and 60-mile races,” said Potter.

Andre Nadeau of Ste. Melanie, Quebec, three-time winner of the Fort Kent race, will defend his crown. Tim McEwen of Eldorado, Ontario, winner of the Marmora Cup two weeks ago and second-place finisher to Nadeau here in 1994, also returns.

Paul Boudreau of St. Gerard, Quebec, a perennial contender in the sled dog circuit, is returning along with John Osmond of Shirley and Ben Thomas of Garland.

The race, through some of Maine’s harshest forests, is run in five legs: about 51 miles from Fort Kent to Portage, then 51 miles to Rocky Brook camps in T13 R11, 31 miles to the Maibec Lumber camp in T13 R14, 50 miles to Allagash, and 40 miles to Fort Kent.

During the 250-mile race, mushers must take an eight-hour layover at any of the first three checkpoints. They also have a mandatory four-hour layover at Allagash. The two mandatory stops cannot be combined.

Once the race starts, mushers run day and night, except during their mandatory layovers, and they are self-sufficient on the trail.

In 1995, the fastest of the full-length races run to date, the winner arrived at Fort Kent within 48 hours of leaving the starting gate.