Thursday Thoughts with Jason Beem for Aug. 14, 2025

A good Thursday morning to you all! A huge weekend coming up around the country including the King’s Plate at Woodbine and Alabama (G1) at Saratoga. But today I wanted to write about my favorite race of the year, the Longacres Mile, on Sunday evening at Emerald Downs. It drew a field of 10 and I can’t wait to watch it from Emerald on TwinSpires this weekend. 

My earliest Longacres Mile memory is 1990 when I watched with my dad from the apron at Longaces as Snipledo went gate to wire to win at 6-1. The next year Louis Cyphere beat my favorite horse of all time, Captain Condo. A year after that Ron Hansen delivered one of the best Mile rides ever, guiding Bolulight to victory in 1992. Then Longaces was gone. 

I’m so glad that they kept the name as the Longacres Mile even with the move to Emerald Downs. Longacres was such an important place to so many of us from the Pacific Northwest. It was a beautiful track filled with so many memories. There’s a really cool documentary about Longaces on YouTube called Miracle Strip that’s a good watch if you’re interested in the history of the track. I’m obviously biased having grown up there, but it was such an amazing place. 

The race has a great history with 89 previous runnings at three different tracks. From 1935 to 1992, it was run at Longacres. Yakima Meadows hosted from 1993 to 1995 and since 1996, Emerald Downs has held it. I believe I’ve attended seven Longacres Mile events in my life, and it would be many more if I had not moved from Seattle years ago. 

My favorite edition was in 2005 when No Giveaway shocked everyone, winning at 60-1. He had won the Governor’s Handicap a few weeks before and came from far back to get up and beat his stablemate and give trainer Grant Forster, a native of Vancouver just to the north, his first of three Longacres Mile wins. I’ll never forget being down on the apron with my uncle and our trainer, and we all went nuts as we had bet No Giveaway and made big scores that day. Something great about the buzz of a shocked apron full of people after a longshot win. Fun fact, No Giveaway was owned by Herman Sarkowsky, who at one time owned the Portland Trailblazers and Seattle Seahawks. Sarkowsky almost won the Longcre Mile in 1971 with a horse named Titular II, who had the lead in the stretch but spooked when he saw the starting gate and pulled himself up, finishing third. 

The race has so many fun and interesting stories like that from its 90-year history. Most important to me and many other Northwesterners though, is that it's our race. It’s the one we grew up watching and attending. It was local bragging rights. Gary Stevens won almost every big race there is, but I’ll bet you winning the Longacres Mile in 1991 is up there on his list of proudest achievements. 

I think the favorites look pretty tough this year, and I’ll take Apprehend to win from the outside post. I think he sits just behind the speed. And I don’t think Clovis Connection’s best trip is a mile, he seems to be the other logical.  

Good luck this weekend!