PANTHERS played their part in a Showground thriller but were edged out 46-44 by title hopefuls Swindon.
Star guest Ryan Douglas topped the scorecharts with a stunning 18+1 including five wins to keep the home side in the hunt.
They needed two maximum 5-1 wins from the last two races to claim a draw - and they completed the first part with Douglas and club legend Ulrich Ostergaard in Heat 14.
And Douglas rocketed from the start in the last but Swindon’s Rasmus Jensen denied a brave effort from Charles Wright to edge the visiting victory.
There was some fine racing despite the earlier drizzle which clearly hit crowd numbers.
And Carl Johnson’s men suffered a blow in the opening heat when Wright shed a chain in front to hand Swindon a gift 5-1.
Rohan Tungate just held off a stern challenge from Jensen in Heat 7 to claim a 4-2.
And Heat 13 was worth the admission money alone with all four riders in contention before 2017 World Champion Jason Doyle grabbed a visiting 4-2.
Crendon Panthers boss Johnson said: “We worked hard again but that’s been the story of our season.
“We need to be a harder team, we need a ruthless streak and we deserve better but that’s how it is.
“This has been my toughest time in the sport but I’ve enjoyed it at the same time, I’m always looking on the positive side.
“We now look forward to next Tuesday against Wolverhampton and see if we can win that - but we are up against Ryan Douglas!”
PETERBOROUGH 44: Ryan Douglas 18+1, Charles Wright 6+1, Rohan Tungate 6, Ulrich Ostergaard 5+2, Hans Andersen 5, Scott Nicholls 2+1, Ty Proctor 2. SWINDON 46: Rasmus Jensen 13, Adam Ellis 10+1, Jason Doyle 9+1, Troy Batchelor 9, Tobiasz Musielak 3+1, Ellis Perks 1, Claus Vissing 1.