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The stars of the 2015 Yukon Quest were cleared for takeoff Saturday.

Each of the 26 mushers鈥� dogs went under the microscope during simultaneous vet checks held in Whitehorse and Fairbanks, Alaska.

Seven mushers鈥� dog teams went through the procedure at Northerm Windows in Whitehorse.

Rob Cooke, Magnus Feren Kaltenborn, Tamra Reynolds, Normand Casavant, Nicolas Vanier, Ed Hopkins and Jason Campeau each made appearances in the Yukon capital for the pre-race necessity.

Each dog that lines up in the starting chute Saturday will have been thoroughly examined by a veterinarian.

While technically a race rookie, the 42-year-old Reynolds has eight years experience from her time as a handler for 2012 champ Hugh Neff.

鈥淚鈥坘ind of know this part of it pretty good,鈥� she said of the pre-race procedures of the food drop and vet check. 鈥淎fter the race starts, that鈥檚 a little bit different.鈥�

Reynolds, who trains out of the Annie Lake area, said the vets pointed out a couple of 鈥渢weaks鈥� that may affect what dogs make her final canine roster.

鈥淚鈥檒l keep my eye on them for the next couple of days and just see if they鈥檙e small things or if they鈥檙e going to linger,鈥� said the Yukoner 鈥� one of three female mushers slated to complete the 1,600-kilometre journey.

鈥淭hat will help me decide which 14 out of 16 I will take.鈥�

Mushers were permitted to have a maximum of 16 dogs examined, and teams arrived at hour intervals throughout the day.

Mushers will begin the race with a maximum of 14, and minimum of eight dogs in front of their sleds.

Dogs new to the Yukon Quest were fitted with a microchip in their neck, and their body condition was ranked on a scale of one to nine.

Other examinations on the checklist included range of motion, teeth and gums, body functions, heart rate, potential frostbite areas, and a check for possible foot and wrist contusions.

Each examination took about 10 minutes.

Four vets from Alpine Veterinary Medical Centre volunteered their time at the Whitehorse vet check, including Amanda Breuer, Matt Allen, Kim Friedenberg and Jessica Heath.

Heath said each of the dogs examined passed their physicals just fine.

鈥淚f the mushers have decided to bring them to the vet check, then we know they鈥檙e already in pretty good shape,鈥濃�坰he explained. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not going to want to bring a dog that they think has any chance of not being able to run 1,000 miles.鈥�

In fact, Heath said a typical sled dog is in excellent shape.

鈥淓very dog we鈥檝e seen today has been awesome,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey all look really good and ready to go.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 actually disqualify a dog from the race, but if we found something we鈥檙e really concerned about, then it would be up to one of the race judges to pull that dog,鈥� Heath added. 鈥淲e evaluate every limb and make sure that they don鈥檛 have any pain or lameness anywhere so they鈥檒l be comfortable when they鈥檙e running.鈥�

The veterinarian said the canine athletes she inspects are completely capable of running a mushing marathon.

鈥淭hey show that they are, right?鈥濃�圚eath said. 鈥淢ost of the mushers who enter the Quest finish, and when they choose not to finish, it鈥檚 usually because they鈥檙e putting the welfare of their team against completing the race. Sometimes they make the really tough choice to not finish because they do care about the welfare of their dogs.

鈥淭hese guys have been training for years to be able to do this. A lot of these dogs are veterans, so they鈥檝e done it before. They know they can do it.鈥�

Meanwhile, Reynolds said her race plan continues to change as her core of veteran huskies haven鈥檛 panned out as hoped.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e all kind of told me they鈥檙e not really wanting to do 1,000 miles anymore,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o now my team is primarily three-year-olds with a couple leaders. But I鈥坥nly have one dog that鈥檚 ever really run 1,000 miles before.鈥�

That dog just happens to be Juanita 鈥� one of Neff鈥檚 Golden Harness winners from 2012.

The Yukon Quest, featuring 26 mushers, gets underway in Shipyards Park this Saturday at 11 a.m.