The 2010 Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race starts on Saturday, but Thursday evening the mushers were relaxing and chatting with fans and each other; signing posters, T-shirts, caps and whatever else was presented, enjoying a relaxing low-key evening of camaraderie before the last-minute details come together and they hit the trail for Whitehorse. Of the couple dozen mushers gathered, it was striking how many were either past Yukon Quest champions or had come very close to winning, often multiple times.

A huge draw for the crowd was returning four-time Quest champion Lance Mackey, who made headlines last year when he dropped out of the Quest to focus on the Iditarod. Not only was Lance gunning for his third consecutive Iditarod championship, he was also mentoring National Guard rookie musher Harry Alexie in that race. The result? Lance won again, and his protege finished successfully in 37th place in a field of 52 mushers.

Yukon musher Hans Gatt, who won the Yukon Quest three consecutive times before Lance started his winning streak -- in 2002, 2003, and 2004 -- is back for his eighth Quest bid. Hans says he's counting on his well-seasoned veteran dogs and "a few outstanding newcomers."

Notably missing this year is the reigning champion and crowd favorite Sebastian Schnuelle, who's focusing his team and his attention on the Iditarod this year. After winning the 2009 Yukon Quest, Sab, as he's known to his fans and friends, went on to place second in last year's Iditarod. This years he's made it known that he's aiming to unseat the three-time champ, Lance.

Ken Anderson, who ran neck-and-neck with Lance in the last half of the 2008 Yukon Quest and crossed the finish line only a few minutes behind him, is back again, as is Hugh Neff, who finished four minutes behind Sebastian Schnuelle last year. Hugh placed third in the 2005 Quest; of the seven times he's run this race he's been in the top ten in five of them.

And the man who won the very first Yukon Quest in 1984, Sonny Lindner, is returning for the sixth time. Sonny hasn't entered the Quest since 1996, but he was never out of the top ten before that. And in last year's Iditarod he was barely out of the top ten, placing a very respectable 11th.

There are plenty of other champions entered, from other races around Alaska and the Yukon, most notably Brent Sass, who's won both the Copper Basin 300 and the Gin Gin in recent years; Joshua Cadzow, who won the 2008 Yukon Quest 300; Zack Steer, who won the 2003 Copper Basin 300 and came in second in the 2004 Quest; and Gerry Willomitzer, who won the tough Percy DeWolfe Memorial, which runs a segment of the Yukon Quest trail, in 2008. Named for an intrepid dogteam mail carrier known as the "Iron Man of the North," the Percy DeWolfe runs the Yukon River between Dawson City and Eagle, the 200 mile section of the Yukon Quest often noted as being the toughest stretch.

With so many champions and near-champions entered, and with a field of rookies which could still include a surprise 2010 champion, this year's Yukon Quest promises to be an exciting race! As Lance Mackey sagely noted after his 2008 win, "It's a dog race, and anything can happen!"