The Meadowlands Racetrack released its 2009 racing calendar today, with the meet starting on Thursday, January 1 and concluding on Friday, August 21.

The track will race five days a week – Wednesday through Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 1:10 p.m. – until April 5. Beginning April 8, racing will be held Wednesday through Saturday nights, with a first race post time at 7 p.m.

There will be special matinee cards at 1:10 p.m. on Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 16; Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10; Memorial Day, Monday, May 25; and Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21.

A $19.5 million stakes schedule is headlined by the $1 million Meadowlands Pace, Saturday, July 18; $1.5 million Hambletonian, Saturday, August 8; and $1.7 million Breeders Crown, Saturday, August 21.

To view the complete stakes schedule, click here.

The Meadowlands also offers the Meadowlands Racing Insider, a weekly online broadcast hosted by Mike Curci that features interviews with leading racing personalities and handicapping insights into the weekend stakes.

The Winter Survival Handicapping Contest, a free online handicapping game, featuring cash prizes, starts on January 1 and runs through March 29. The highest accumulated [mythical] bankroll wins the Grand Prize, one (1) spot in the National Harness Handicapping Championship on Saturday, April 25, 2009. Registration closes on January 1. To register, click here.

(The Meadowlands)