  Ultrafast optical excitations allow creating new metastable and hidden states
in quantum materials. However, the fundamental material properties required to
support new emergent order are largely unknown. Here we show for two colossal
magnetoresistive (CMR) manganites that electronic phase separation (EPS)
strongly favors non-thermal behavior and exploit this to stabilize an
optically-induced conducting state. Our results shed light on the role of EPS
in optical control of CMR manganites and provide guidance for the design of
materials that can exhibit non-equilibrium states of matter.
