Stakes action switches into high gear as Emerald Downs presents a stakes doubleheader on Sunday, July 11.

The brilliant 4-year-old Noosa Beach can maintain his perfect season in the $50,000 Governor’s Handicap for older stakes stars at 6 ½ furlongs. The venerable stakes event is another important steppingstone to the $250,000 Longacres Mile Grade 3 on Sunday, Aug. 22. Defending Mile champion and 2009 Governor’s runner-up Assessment and stable mate Wasserman also are nominated to the Governor’s, and a top five finish would push Wasserman past Captain Condo as the No. 1 all-time earner at Washington racetracks.

The nomination bin received an overflow 14 nominations for the Washington’s Lottery, as 3-year-old fillies stretch out to 1 1/16 miles in the final prep for the $75,000 Washington Oaks on Saturday, Aug. 14. Sis’s Sis, game winner of the one-mile Irish Day Handicap last month, and Antares World, runner-up in the Grade I American Oaks at Hollywood Park, top the list.