In what was the best race of the Friday night card at Buffalo Raceway, Open trotter Keystone Bernard ($20.20) won a four-horse blanket finish, in which the top finishers were all separated by less than half a length at the wire.
Keystone Bernard, dismissed by the bettors at 9-1, won the $11,000 featured trot in 2:02.3 over a sloppy track for owners Rice Racing Stable LLC of Vernon, New York. The win was the first this season for the six-year-old Cantab Hall gelding.
Leaving from the far outside in the field of seven, and driven by reinsman Shawn Gray, Keystone Bernard eventually caught up to the leaders in mid-stretch, and beat second place finisher Hailstorm Volo (Jack Flanigen) by a head at the wire. Under The Stars (Jim McNeight) came in third and Columbia County (Jamie Dunlap) was fourth.
Trained by Maria Rice, the $5,500 share of the winning purse put Keystone Bernard lifetime earnings at $175,751.
Driver Billy Dobson led all drivers with four wins on the night aboard Most Wanted Lindy ($5.70), Pick Up Front ($14.00), Grayland Becky ($6.40), and Signal Hill Ginger ($9.20).
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)