The Meadowlands, which for 25 years has almost exclusively conducted night racing at its Thoroughbred meet, breaks from tradition when the 62-day meet opens on Monday in East Rutherford, N.J.

Seventeen day programs, including five Mondays and 11 Tuesdays, are scheduled. The other day card is this Thursday. The 45 evening programs begin at 7:30 p.m.

With Mondays and Tuesdays generally dark days at Belmont Park in New York, The Meadowlands could be in a good position to capitalize on the absence of that popular simulcast signal.

BENSALEM, Pa. - A fever will keep Magic Weisner from running in Monday's $500,000 Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park.

Owner-trainer Nancy Alberts said she noticed something amiss with Magic Weisner at feed time Friday afternoon when he was moping around his Laurel Park stall and laid down. He had a temperature of 102 degrees - about two degrees above normal, said Alberts, who had the horse treated with antibiotics. On Saturday morning, Alberts said the horse still had the temperature.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Next Saturday's Grade 1 Woodward Stakes offers a $500,000 purse and is one of the most prestigious races in the country. But only defending champion Lido Palace and either Godolphin's E Dubai or Express Tour were confirmed starters as of Saturday.

E Dubai's status remains questionable because of a bruised foot that has forced him to miss training since his three-quarters of a length victory over Lido Palace in the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap on July 6 at Belmont.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Sky Mesa may have established himself as the early favorite for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with an impressive 1 3/4-length victory over Pretty Wild in Saturday's $250,000 at Saratoga. Zavata, the 1-5 favorite, finished third after encountering trouble during the early stages of the Grade 1 event.

Sky Mesa, a son of Pulpit out of Caress, paid $9.80. He covered seven furlongs in 1:23.08 over a fast track under leading rider Edgar Prado. Sky Mesa is owned by John Oxley and trained by John Ward Jr.

Trainers Henry Cochran and Hal Wiggins appear to hold the strongest hands Monday in the Tri-State Handicap, a $75,000 turf race that helps bring a close to the 41-day meet at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky.

While Cochran and Wiggins both are scheduled to run two legitimate contenders in the Tri-State, the entries bring disparate styles to the race. The Cochran duo of Catchy Word and Moon Solitaire both tend to run on or near the pace, whereas the Wiggins pair of Jake the Flake and Red Mountain are come-from-behinders.

ALTOONA, Iowa - See How She Runs returns to the scene of her first career defeat yet looms an odds-on choice against six rivals in Monday's $75,000 Prairie Meadows Oaks at 1 1/16 miles.

When See How She Runs ran here two months ago in the $150,000 Iowa Oaks, she was on the verge of becoming one of the sport's top 3-year-old fillies, having won all five of her starts, including the Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

AB What a Runner broke a 29-year-old track record in the All American Futurity trials for Quarter Horses at Ruidoso Downs on Aug. 15. Her connections would probably trade that for a victory in the $2 million on Monday.

"There is a lot of pressure on us because you'll have to run that big of a race or better to win," said AB What a Runner's trainer, Bret Vickery.

Pisces was a 31-1 outsider when finishing third in the 2001 Miami Mile Breeders' Cup Handicap. What a difference a year makes.

On Monday Pisces will likely start as the favorite in the 2002 edition of the Miami Mile, a Grade 3 turf race that drew a field of 10, including three-time Grade 1 winner Sir Bear, who was entered for dirt only.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Chicagoans already have seen what With Ability can do with an easy lead. They may see it again Monday.

A romping, front-end winner of the Grade 3 Sixty Sails this spring at speed-favoring Sportsman's Park, With Ability is back from New York for more in the Grade 3, $150,000 Arlington Matron. Even without a track bias on her side, With Ability will be hard to catch if she controls the pace of the 1 1/8-mile Matron.

Kiss the Devil, ridden by Lonnie Meche, barely held off a late rush by San Dare to win the $60,000 Dade Turf Classic at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky. Kiss the Devil returned $6.60 as co-favorite in a field of eight fillies and mares.

Kiss the Devil, a Kris S. filly owned by Carl Pollard and trained by Dave Vance, prevailed for the first time in a stakes when completing 1 1/8 miles in 1:46.40 over firm turf.