FORT KENT – The excitement of the Maine Principals’ Association’s Class A skiing championship and the U.S. Junior Biathlon Championships have not had time to diminish in this northern Maine town and the ninth running of the Can Am Crown International Sled Dog Race hits the trails Saturday morning.

Mushers have been arriving in the St. John Valley border town since Tuesday. Trucks loaded with sled dogs have been spotted. Mushers with visions of glory in the eastern United States’ biggest sled dog competition have been quietly training their teams on a new 20-mile training loop just completed this winter.

Bright banners of red, white and blue have been heralding the coming of the annual classic for a week. The banner also displays the face, with bright gleaming eyes, of a sled dog.

The weekend of racing includes the MBNA 250-mile race through some of Maine’s most foreboding forests, the Key Bank 60-mile race, and the Pepsi Cola/Budweiser 30-miler. All three begin Saturday morning, starting at 9 a.m. for the 250-mile and 60-mile race on Fort Kent’s Main Street. The 30-mile race starts at 11 a.m. at the Lonesome Pine Ski Resort. All three races finish at the Lonesome Pine Ski Resort.

The 250-mile race, an endurance contest for both sled dogs and mushers, is a qualifying race for both the famed Iditarod, an 1,100-mile race in Alaska, and the Yukon Quest, another 1,100-mile race from the Yukon Territories to Alaska. Those races are held in March and February, respectively.

“It’s the biggest field of mushers yet for the 250-mile race,” Rita Cannan, president of the Can Am Crown International Sled Dog Race board of directors, said Thursday. “We are still awaiting three mushers for that race, that we know are on the road here, and we have not heard from [past champions] Don Hibbs and Andre Nadeau.

“We heard both of them are coming, but we have not seen them. Everything is all set for the race, including a great course, and great racing weather that is being forecasted.”

Hibbs, of Millinocket, and Nadeau, from Quebec, are the only men who have won the race more than once. Nadeau won the race the first four years, from 1993 to 1996, and Hibbs won in 1997, 1999, and 2000. Martin Massicotte, also of Quebec, won the race in 1998.

As of Thursday, 22 mushers were registered for the 250-mile classic in which 25-27 mushers are expected. The deadline for registering is tonight’s mushers meeting, where ground rules are established and last-minute questions are answered.

The 30- and 60-mile races each had 18 mushers registered. Cannan expected those numbers to grow because a lot of local mushers don’t register until the Friday before the race.

“Everything is all set. The trails are groomed to perfection, and everything is in tip-top shape,” Cannan said. “It’s been a real busy time for all the volunteers, but that’s what makes this race so successful.

“The weather is supposed to be perfect for Saturday, below zero temperatures forecasted for the start of race and temperatures in the teens during the day. That’s perfect, for both the dogs and mushers.”

The races at Fort Kent are gathering more and more momentum as its history increases. Cannan said the New York Times, the Baltimore Sun and the Boston Globe will have reporters in town for the race this year.

Up for grabs is $37,000 in purses.

The 250-mile race includes $20,000 in prize money, divided up among the top 12 finishers. First place is $4,500 and 12th place is $600. There are also five stage purses, $1,000 each for the fastest time in each of the five legs of the race. There is also $1,000 divided among the top three best-kept teams.

The 60-mile race has $7,000 in prize money, divided up among the top 12 finishers, with the winner receiving $2,000. The 30-mile race purse splits $4,000 among the top 12 teams and the winner receives $1,200.

The 30- and 60-mile races start and end on Saturday. The award ceremony for those races is at the Lonesome Pine Ski Lodge at 8 a.m. Sunday.

Winners of the 250-mile race usually start arriving back in Fort Kent during the early morning hours of Monday. The awards banquet for the big race is at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Lonesome Pine Ski Lodge.