A total of 24 mushers are set to battle it out for the Yukon Quest sled dog race title later this week, it has been announced.

The field has been reduced by three after Ramey Smyth, Jason Mackey and Becca Moore all pulled out before a vets meeting over the weekend (January 30th 2010).

Kicking off this Saturday (February 6th 2010), the Yukon Quest is one of the biggest dates on the international mushing calendar.

The course is over 1,000 miles long and follows a similar route to supply carriers in the early 20th century.

It has been run since 1983 after four mushers decided it was time the region had its own sled dog race.

In the years since, the likes of Lance Mackey have taken the title at the event.

The Fairbanks veteran has already won the race four times and is hoping to beat off the likes of the inaugural winner Sonny Lindner to land his fifth.