by Nick Salvi, for Meadowlands Racetrack

East Rutherford, NJ — Saturday morning’s freshman races at The Meadowlands were conducted under ideal conditions with the temperature in the 80s and just a light breeze.

A few impressions were left by trotting colts Flacco and Trixton, both trained by Hall of Fame trainer Jimmy Takter and driver by Yannick Gingras. Flacco is a Muscles Yankee-Contag Way $62,000 Harrisburg yearling who took over past the opening quarter and coasted home in :28.3 on the end of a 2:00.3 mile.

Trixton (Muscle Hill-Emilie Cas El) was the most expensive trotting yearling sold at auction last year, bringing a final bid of $360,000 from Brixton Medical and Christina Takter at the Lexington Selected Sale. He won for the second time in 2:00, closing the mile with a :27.4 last quarter for Gingras.

Dottie Major (Art Major-Jennifer G) won at first asking for trainer Nick Surick, closing into a :27.1 last quarter to get up in 1:57.2 with Andy Miller aboard in the first pacing event. This filly was an $8,000 bargain for owners Kerry Feuker-Weed and MK Weed.

Put On A Display did just that for the team of trainer Chris Ryder and owners Richard and Joanne Young. The $175,000 Lexington sale Somebeachsomewhere-Bj’s Canouan filly led all way in 1:54.3/:28.1 for Tim Tetrick.

The colt pacers came next and Murder He Wrote (Kenneth J-Jk Dancing Queen) went a nice trip for Terick, putting the finishing touches on a 1:56.2 mile with a :26.3 final quarter after a first over move. This colt by the ill-fated Kenneth J is owned by trainer Linda Toscano’s Camelot Stables.

Winds Of Change took a mark of 1:55 next. The Brittany Farms, Val D’Or Farms homebred American Ideal-Art’s Temptress colt was impressive in defeat last week, recovering from interference to be a fast closing second. This time, driver Tim Tetrick moved him to the lead up the backstretch and tacked a :27.4 close onto the mile in hand.

The best race of the day was the last of the 2-year-olds where a couple of really nice colts hooked up for the length of the stretch. Stay Up Late is an Artiscape-Dreamland’s Jo Jo colt that cost West Winds Stable and Christine Calhoun $67,000, while Avalanche Hanover (Somebeachsomewhere-Anadarko Hanover) was a $200,000 buy for Brittany, Katz, Goldband, Libfeld, Sbrocco and Gural. This pair reached the three-sixteenths pole together and paced in tandem through the :27.3 end to a 1:58.3 mile with Avalanche Hanover getting the nod. The team of Toscano and Tetrick closed out the freshman races with this, their third consecutive winner of the day.

Closing out the day was world champion Check Me Out who went her second qualifier of the season in anticipation of her return to the racing wars. She was a 1:54.3 winner with a :55.4 final half and :27.4 last quarter for Tetrick.