Belmont Park Hotlist - May 20

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Friday, May 20, 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 [Md 40000, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (8) Candlestick Maker (B) clipped heels in his debut race and almost went down when he was a well bet at 9-2 for Bruce Levine. (5) Masabeeh moved back to the grass following a four-month layoff and finished second after having the lead. (6) Requestforproposal had a pair of fourths for Chad Brown at Tampa Bay in maiden special weights. (4) Quaria Thunder was claimed at Turfway Park for $30,000 by Mike Maker after three good efforts on the artificial surface.

6^th race [OC40k/SAL40k, 6F] – (3) Doin’ittherightway was claimed from a victory in a similar spot for $40,000 also by Mike Maker. He cuts back from a mile to a distance at which he won his only start. (2) Dot’s Dollar was a maiden claiming winner for $40,000 in his first start for Tom Morley who had just claimed him. (1) Silipo was second in his first start following a claim by Linda Rice in the same kind of condition. (6) Heads Or Tails had a pair of good efforts at this level.

7^th race [NY, OC45k/N2X, 6 ½ F] – (3) Pretty Clever (C) was a winner of a first-level allowance last time in his second start following a layoff when she was bet down from 5-1 to 3-1. (5) Bank On Anna was third in a NY-bred stake last time following an allowance victory and a maiden special weight score. (6) Khali Magic was third twice and second in her last three races at this level. (4) Towering Orbit used front running efforts to win both of her races including an allowance two races back. Last time she lost all chance after a poor start.

9^th race [Md 40000, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (7) Lucky Mucho Man (A) got too far behind in his first turf start after a rough start that had him in last and then rallied to finish just three lengths behind. (1) Resilient Courage pressed the pace in his return to the grass and finished fourth. (2) Sensibleconclusion was entered for the grass two back but was second on the dirt most recently. (4) Pivotal Run has had the winter off and now drops back into the claiming ranks where he actually won a race but was disqualified.

Best bets:  Doin’ittherightway (6^th); Pretty Clever (7^th). Best value:  Candlestick Maker (1^st); Lucky Mucho Man (9^th)