Big Al M won his Vernon Downs debut in a romp, topping the Open trotters in the $11,644 feature on Friday, Aug. 28.

Driven by Chris Long, Big Al M took control for the compact field of five just before hitting the quarter in :27.2 then cruised to the half in :55.4 and three-quarters in 1:24.2. The bettors' choice left his rivals seven lengths behind, scoring in 1:53.4. Forty Gs (Roman Lopez) and What A Mission (Michael Miller) rounded out the top three finish order.

Big Al M is an eight-year-old gelding by Anders Bluestone out of Bringing Up Lindy. Trained and owned by Zach Vickerson, he has won six of his 10 seasonal starts while competing mostly in Maine. The career winner of 38 races went over $600,000 in earnings.

Live harness racing returns to Vernon Downs on Saturday, Aug. 29 with a post time of 5:05 p.m. 

(Standardbred Canada with files from Vernon Downs)