California invader Deb’s Wildcard held off Ethan’s Baby in a furious finish for a nose victory Sunday in the $50,000 Seattle Handicap for 3-year-old fillies at Emerald Downs.

Ridden by Ricardo Gonzalez at 120 lbs, Deb’s Wildcard ran 6 ½ furlongs in 1:16.34 and paid $8.20, $4.40 and $2.60. Lloyd Mason is the winning trainer and co-owner with Robert Jones of San Leandro, Calif.

Ethan’s Baby led into the lane, relinquished command to Deb’s Wildcard past mid-stretch, then came again late to just miss the victory. Ridden by Javier Matias at 119 lbs, Ethan’s Baby paid $4.80 and $3.

Suva Harbor, the 8-to-5 favorite ridden by Joe Steiner at high weight of 121 lbs, finished third, 2 ¾ lengths behind Ethan’s Baby, and paid $2.20.

Belle Hill, Sneaking a Kiss, Pippa Bou Peep, Hip Ninety Three, S U M Racer and Perhaps a Pie completed the order of finish.

A California-bred by Desert Code-Deb’s Royal Flush, Deb’s Wildcard is 4-2-2 in nine starts lifetime with earnings of $113,924. Her previous eight starts were on the synthetic Tapeta surface at Golden Gate Fields.

“I just kept her outside and she handled it perfectly,” said Gonzalez, a 20-year-old native of Sinaloa, Mexico, and currently second in the Golden Gate standings. “I didn’t want to get behind horses and she doesn’t like the dirt. We came down the lane, turned for home and she was flying.

“Deb’s Wildcard is a tough filly. As soon as she felt the (Ethan’s Baby) she kicked right back on. I saw someone was coming because the crowd was yelling. I looked over on my inside and Ethan’s Baby was coming.”

Ethan’s Baby, the track’s champion 2-year-old filly of 2014, nearly gave trainer Howard Belvoir and owners Todd and Shawn Hansen a second straight stakes win. Stable mate Fooled Again prevailed in the Auburn Handicap for 3-year-old colts and geldings last week.

“I watched the replays of my filly, she’s quick,” Matias said of Ethan’s Baby. “I tried to save a little ground to give me something in the lane.

“The other filly passed me, and then my filly came back and I’m pretty happy for that. To me, I was thinking I won. But that’s horse racing.”

NOTES: Making Fire set a track record with a $153 win payoff in Sunday’s sixth race, breaking the mark of $142 set by My Lady Boots on July 27, 1997. Diego Sanchez was the winning rider on Making Fire for trainer Bill Tollett and owners Donna Tollett and Petra Lewin. A 7-year-old Washington-bred gelding, Making Fire is 6-for-28 lifetime, but had lost his last four starts by a combined 72 lengths. Off at odds-of 75.60-to-1, Making Fire also paid a record $63.20 to place, breaking the mark of $58 set by Georgia Echo on October 6, 1998. . .Sanchez has seven wins at the meet, including the two biggest $2 win payoffs—Making Fire and Fleet Eagle ($81.40) in the Governor’s Handicap. . .In a $21,000 sub-feature for 3-year-old allowances, Thetrailerguy ($5.60) edged Awesome Indian in the final strides for his second win in three starts. Ridden by Julien Couton for trainer Monique Snowden and owner Heidi Nelson, Thetrailerguy ran 6 ½ furlongs in 1:16.78. . .Calculated Chaos ($5.60) became the meet’s first three-time winner with a come-from behind score over Polish Dollar in race eight. Juan Gutierrez rode the 5-year-old for trainer Jeff Metz and owners Hilton Stable and Gary McNeil. . .Metz saddled two winners to extend his lead to 18-10 on Blaine Wright atop the trainers’ standings. For the week, Metz was 5-1-0 in six starts. ..Snowden also had two winners, sweeping the late double with Thetrailerguy and Sociable Gold ($4.80), and is 5-for-11 at the meet. . .Couton and Gutierrez rode two winners each, and through 19 days Couton leads Gutierrez 26-22 in the jockey’s race. Couton already has nine multiple win days. . . .Anyone think Cleveland will beat Golden State in 6 games? Hunch players were rewarded with a $10 payoff as Lebron 6 edged Just a Rumor in Sunday’s second race, a 300-yard dash for Quarter Horses. . .Happy 50th Birthday to Gary Dougherty, the Seattle Times longtime handicapper and racing historian/statistician. . .Live racing resumes Friday with first post 6:45 p.m.