Racsan Steve won the $11,000 Open Pace in a lifetime-best 1:54.4 at Buffalo Raceway on Saturday night (June 15).

The win was the seventh in 20 attempts this year for Racsan Steve, a seven-year-old gelding by Three Olives, who is trained by Christopher Naedele and owned by Winfred Answeeney of Eden, New York.

Racsan Steve ($11.20), dismissed by the bettors at 9-2, settled in second from post one with Jack Flanigen in the bike as eventual second-place finisher OK Braveheart (Shawn McDonough) cut all the fractions in the race of :28, :56.4, and 1:25.3. As the field hit the top of the stretch, Racsan Steve swung to the outside, and with a :29 last quarter-mile, nipped OK Braveheart by just a nose at the wire. Western Alumni (John Cummings Jr.) came in third.

The $5,500 winner's share of the purse put Racsan Steve’s seasonal earnings at $45,155 and lifetime bankroll at $126,266. The win was his 21st in 142 lifetime starts.

Racing will resume on Sunday June 16, with first post scheduled for 1:05 pm eastern time. The three-year-old trotting fillies are in town for some New York Sire Stakes action.

(With files from Buffalo Raceway)