O B Harbor, Alert Bay among Longacres Mile probables

The local star O B Harbor heads the list of likely starters nominated to the Grade 3, $200,000 Longacres Mile. The one-mile race for 3-year-olds and up will be run at Emerald Downs on Aug. 14. Weights will be announced Saturday, with entries being drawn Aug. 10.

Dortmund is among the 25 horses nominated but is highly unlikely to start.

O B Harbor, trained by Chris Stenslie, has been nothing less than sensational at Emerald this year. He won a $50,000 optional claimer going 5 1/2 furlongs in his first start this year and then swept the three stakes for older horses at the meet. He posted the fastest times at the meet going 5 1/2 furlongs, 6 1/2 furlongs, one mile, and 1 1/16 miles. In all of his wins with Jose Zunino aboard, he set fast fractions and just kept rolling.

The top three finishers in last year’s Mile – Stryker Phd, Sammy Mandeville, and Alert Bay – are among the nominees. Stryker Phd, trained by Larry Ross, will be looking for his third straight win in the most prestigious race at Emerald. However, he wasn’t able to keep up with O B Harbor in the Budweiser or Mount Rainier, races he won the previous two years.

Alert Bay will be the top money earner in the field, which will be capped at 12. Trained by Blaine Wright, Alert Bay is a graded stakes winner on turf and dirt. His first important win came in the Grade 3 British Columbia Derby at Hastings in 2014. His latest was on turf in the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile at Golden Gate Fields on April 30. He will go into the Longacres Mile with more than $1.1 million in earnings.

Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer nominated Cyrus Alexander, Point Piper, and Chief of Staff. Officials at Emerald said the most likely starter of the three is Cyrus Alexander, who won the Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap on May 30.

Slight nod to Dare Me Devil in Friday feature

Dare Me Devil looks as good as any in a $10,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up that headlines Friday’s seven-race card, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Pacific. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew nine horses and appears to be a wide-open event.

Trained by Candi Tollett, Dare Me Devil is coming off a fourth-place finish going one mile in a $15,000 claiming race on July 23. With all but one of his 17 wins coming in sprints, he should appreciate the cutback in distance.