Belmont Park Hotlist - June 23

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Thursday, June 23, 2022 at Belmont Park
                By Matt Shifman and Bob Ehalt

Hot List Key:
 A: A preferred horse to watch                         B: Secondary horse to watch
*C: Went down 2 or more betting notches and finished 1st through 3rd
*D: Went down 2 or more betting notches and finished 4^th or worse
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.

1^st race [NY, Md 40000, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (6) Rush to Honor (B) was entered for the turf but ran on a sloppy track, went six wide, and finished second after having the lead. They will nope for the grass again. (1) On Palm Sunday gets blinkers on and stretches out in distance and picks up Irad for trainer David Donk whose barn is very hot right now. (5) Toga Dancer made his 2022 debut in April and caught a tough field at this same level where the second-place horse returned to win. The Nevin barn is going well at Belmont Park. (2) Crawford County has good races on the dirt as he tries to transfer his form to the grass.

2^nd race [Clm 20000, 6F] – (6) Dawnland was claimed for $25,000 after running second by Rob Falcone who wins with 25% of his new runners. He raced wide last time as the favorite against the eventual winner of that race who is in here also. (4) Rough Tough Love is the aforementioned horse that will try and win his second in a row. (5) Tactical Range was a winner the last time that he ran for a $20,000 tag. Since then he tried a series of starter allowances and a $30,000 claimer at Monmouth. (1) Gris Tormenta was the winner of a $16,000 N2L condition two weeks ago at Belmont.

3^rd race [Md 40000, 7F] – (2) Regina will drop into this maiden claiming level for the first time after two maiden special weight starts at Laurel Park for Linda Rice where she ran fourth and then third. (6) Tekila was third in her 2022 debut for Mark Hennig at this level and Johnny V stays on board. (3) Cupids Girl will also try the claiming ranks for the first time after several races where she did not run badly. (7) Oh Mrs. Maisel could get the same comment as Cupids Girl except that they tried her on the grass last time and that did not go well.

9^th race [NY, Md 25000, 6F] – (4) He’sgottashortfuse (C) was bet down from 4-1 to 2-1 and finished third after pressing the pace. (1) El Veinticuatro (B) raced seven-wide on a good, sealed track and rallied for third where he was much better than the rest. (11) Barone Marchis will make his first start since getting claimed by Orlando Noda. His first two starts are good enough to win against this field. (7) Suit of Armor was fourth last time against open company at Monmouth Park and ran on the turf before that.

Best bets:  Rush to Honor (1^st); Dawnland (2^nd). Best value:  Regina (3^rd); He’sgottashortfuse (9^th).