Meadowlands Racetrack kicks off its 2011 winter harness meet with a 13-race card on Friday, January 7

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Post time is 7 p.m. for the opening night program, which features a $32,000 invitational for pacing mares, $32,000 event for older trotters and the second annual We're Not So Young Anymore pace for horses 10 years old and up.

Image Of Dawn will be back to defend his title in the $25,000 We're Not So Young Anymore, which celebrates the veterans of the track. The millionaire son of Life Sign, who turned 12 on the first of the year, will start from post seven with Dan Dube in the sulky. Pat Lachance owns and trains Image Of Dawn, who has a career record of 49 wins from 290 starts and earnings of $1,109,779.

Western Graduate and Flirtiscape are the veterans of the field in the $32,000 mares invitational. Lou Pena trains the pair of seven-year-old mares who will start from posts four and six, respectively. Their formidable foes include Red Star Hottie, winner of her last three starts for trainer Ron Burke, and Island Terror, who swept the Stienams Place Series at the Meadowlands and the Northeast Extension at Chester this fall for Mark Ford.

The field for the $32,000 trot feature includes Winning Mister, who exits two strong performances at Chester, including an impressive 1:53.1 score in the Harrah's Boulevard Series Final. Click here for the early past performances for the January 7 card.

In addition to the return of racing, there's a lot to celebrate on opening night of the 2011 Winter Harness Meet. Big M Club members will earn double points on live races on Friday, January 7. Go to MeadowlandsRacetrack.com to learn more about the rewards of being a Big M Club member.

The best bet at the track, the Pick 4, returns with a $50,000 guaranteed pool on Friday and Saturday nights. Offered on races six through nine, the Pick Four features a low 15 percent takeout and high return rate. The Pick Four pool averaged more than $75,000 per card with an average payoff of over $4,000 in 2010.

The Meadowlands will follow a Thursday-Saturday live racing schedule through the end of March. Post time is 7 p.m. nightly.

(The Meadowlands)