Washington, PA — After securing a good early seat and being shuffled severely, Butter Bay Hanover found late room between horses to capture Friday’s (Sept. 11) co-feature at The Meadows, a $20,000-$25,000 claiming handicap pace.

Butter Bay Hanover (#5) wedged between rivals to win his co-featured claiming handicap pace on Friday at The Meadows. Chris Gooden photo.

Although he briefly held the early lead for Aaron Merriman, Butter Bay Hanover found himself fourth at the top of the lane with a wall of horses in front of him. Merriman guided the 4-year-old Captaintreacherous-Better B Lucky gelding through a narrow seam, which he negotiated successfully to edge Border Control A by a head in 1:52.3. Winning Is Sweet was a close-up third.

Bill Rhoades trains Butter Bay Hanover for Tom Mucci.

In the other co-feature, also a $20,000-$25,000 claiming handicap pace, Western Tyrant made a quarter-pole move stand up, prevailing in 1:52.3 for Dave Palone, trainer Kevin Johnson and owner Richard Briskey. It was the second straight win for the 6-year-old Western Terror-Fans Bikini gelding, who lifted his lifetime bankroll to $191,446.

Palone piloted five winners on the 13-race card, including a pair for Johnson.

Live racing at The Meadows resumes Monday (Sept. 14), when the 13-race program features a pair of Keystone Classics — valued at $179,800 — for 2-year-olds. On the wagering front, the card offers an $18,626 carryover in the final-race Super Hi-5 and a $5,000 total-pool guarantee for the Early Pick-4, which begins in race three. First post is 12:45 p.m.