East Rutherford, NJ — Fade Out proved to be highly competitive in the first two legs of the TrackMaster Series for fillies and mares on the pace with a rating of 84 or less, but came up short on both occasions. On Friday night (May 10), at the Meadowlands, in the series’ $23,000 final, a perfect trip for the Jeff Cullipher trainee led to a jaunt down victory lane.

“Good trips make for happiness,” said winning driver Tim Tetrick. “She’s been knocking on the door and finally got it done tonight.”

After finishing a close-up third and second in her attempts in the preliminaries, all went well in the final, as Fade Out sat fifth to the half while the top two choices – 5-2 shots Pattycake Mooss and Anna’s Wish – were at each other’s throats through a half of :55.4 over a track rated ‘sloppy.’

Around the far turn, Tetrick had Fade Out, a 5-year-old by Sportswriter-Fade, in perfect second-over striking position following last week’s second-leg upset winner Two Pistol Annie as Anna’s Wish hit three-quarters in 1:23.2. From there, Fade Out tipped off her cover as they straightened up for the stretch drive and paced right by her foes to record a safe three-quarter-length win in 1:51.1. Century Jamila, who blasted away from post 10 to lead at the quarter in :27.3, finished second, with leg one winner Dontkarenifido third.

Fade Out and driver Tim Tetrick won the TrackMaster Series final at the Meadowlands Friday night. Lisa Photo.

“I think that’s her best game, sit back and see what happens,” said a mud-covered Tetrick in the post-race back paddock interview. “Luckily, turning for home, we were second-over and got the right trip. Last week, I thought she would win and hung a little [when second]. When she gets on a roll, she’s a pretty nice mare.”

Owned by Pollack Racing, Fade Out now has 20 wins from 69 lifetime starts, good for earnings of $367,387. As the 4-1 third choice in the wagering, she returned $10.00 to her backers.

CARRYOVER CRAZY: There will be a pair of carryovers for players to shoot for on the Saturday (May 11) card.

The key to the carryovers was Hurrymiki Hanover, who took the seventh race at odds of 48-1, topping a trifecta that returned a whopping $12,236. There were no winning tickets sold in the 10-cent Hi-5 (pentafecta), creating a carryover of $13,569 for Saturday’s seventh race.

The best players could do in the 20-cent Pick-6 was five winning selections, which was good for a payout of $24.82. The carryover for Saturday’s Pick-6 (races 4-9) is $3,087.

A LITTLE MORE: Todd McCarthy followed up his four-win night last Saturday with a three-bagger to lead the driver colony. He has nine wins over the last three race cards. … Cullipher and Cory Stratton each had training doubles. … All-source handle totaled $3,113,950 on the 14-race card, the 30th time in 2024 that wagering surpassed $3 million from a total of 36 programs. … Racing resumes Saturday at 6:20 p.m. with early Hambletonian favorite Karl the featured attraction in New Jersey Sire Stakes action.