After getting saddled with a post position of six or worse in the past month, Empire Earl N must of felt he was in heaven with the five-hole. He took advantage of the 'better' starting position and scored a half-length victory over BZ Glide in Buffalo Raceway's $10,000 Open Trot on Friday night (June 23).

Despite the outside posts since May 19, Empire Earl N was still very competitive during that time by earning a cheque in four of the five starts including a win, second and third.

BZ Glide got parked to the opening quarter-mile by Lutetium and Jim Dandy as the feature event unfolded. Setting fractions of :29, :59 and 1:29.4 over the sloppy track, BZ Glide looked liked he might steal the win in front-running style.

But Empire Earl N had other ideas. Sitting in fourth-place and second-over with a final panel to trot, driver Larry Stalbaum got Empire Earl N ($4.70) into high gear four-wide in the stretch and collared BZ Glide (Mike Caprio) at the wire by a half-length. Gwally (David McNeight III), who broke just before the half-mile marker, regrouped in time to capture third.

Owned by Stalbaum and trained by Kimberly Asher, the nine-year-old gelded Empire Earl N (Earl-Santa Nita) earned his third win in 14 tries this year. The victory increased his seasonal earnings to $29,270 and lifetime bankroll to $115,195.

John Cummings Jr. tripled in the sulky with Stalbaum and Ray Fisher Jr. each getting a double. JD Perrin picked up three training victories and Asher two.

Racing will resume on Saturday night at 6 p.m. with an 11-race card set. There's a $448 carryover in the Pick-5, which begins in the second race.

(With files from Buffalo Raceway)