From Oklahoma to Southern California, two of trainer Doug O’Neill’s juveniles face important trials in late-season stakes. On Friday, Dr. Ruben M, the winner of a maiden race at Santa Anita on Oct. 14, will have his stakes debut in the $300,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park. On Saturday, Rank, winless in five starts, is scheduled to run in the Grade 2, $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity at 1 1/16 miles. A top-three finish for Rank would be progress. The list of possible starters in the Los Alamitos Futurity includes Gaming and Getaway Car, who were second and fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar on Nov. 1, and Journalism, the exciting winner of a one-mile maiden race there on Nov. 17. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Rank, who races for Calumet Farm, was second to Dr. Ruben M in his first start at a mile at Santa Anita on Oct. 14 and second to Journalism on Nov. 17 after leading in the stretch. “We’re going to act like he’s a winner even though he’s a maiden,” O’Neill said of Rank. “He’s been knocking on the door. “He’s had a couple of halfway decent runner-up [finishes]. He’s better than an average talent. Since we’ve stretched him out, we’re seeing the best of him.” The Los Alamitos Futurity is the final graded stakes of the year for 2-year-olds. There are 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points available to the winner. Entries were being drawn on Wednesday. Gaming and Getaway Car are trained by Bob Baffert, who has won eight of 10 runnings of the Los Alamitos Futurity since the race was moved from Hollywood Park following that track’s closure at the end of 2013. The Los Alamitos Futurity is the leading race on the final weekend of the track’s brief two-week December meeting. The Santa Anita winter-spring meeting begins on Dec. 26. Los Alamitos is scheduled to run from Friday through Sunday this weekend, although entries for Friday’s program were delayed from Tuesday to Wednesday because of a lack of support. O’Neill is hopeful this weekend’s 2-year-old races will be part of a successful end of the year. On Dec. 26, the stable plans to run Raging Torrent in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs at Santa Anita. “That distance suits him perfectly,” O’Neill said. Raging Torrent won consecutive stakes at seven furlongs in the summer – the Maxfield Stakes for 3-year-olds at Churchill Downs on June 30, and his debut against older horses in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 24. In his lone start this fall, Raging Torrent finished seventh of 11 in the BC Sprint. Raging Torrent started from the inside post and stalked the pace before fading. “I think in the BC Sprint, being on the rail and going three-quarters was too much to ask,” O’Neill said. “Hopefully the seven-eighths will agree with him.” The O’Neill-trained Mixto, upset winner of the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar in August, but 11th in the BC Classic on Nov. 2, and third in the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar on Nov. 23, is an intended starter in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 25, O’Neill said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.