Belmont Park Hotlist - October 29

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Thursday, October 29, 2020 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 – (1) Fried Rice King makes a drop down from a starter allowance to this N3L claimer after having won the N2L condition two races back. This will be the second start after getting claimed out of that win. (2) Allured continues at the N3L level except that he drops in claiming price from $50,000 to $20,000 for the Noda Brothers who took him for $40,000 and have a starter allowance win since the claim. (4) Microscope will make his first appearance in a claimer since he broke his maiden for $40,000. Since then he won a starter allowance and has been facing allowance and stakes company against NY-breds. (3) Latin Love Bug raced at Monmouth Park this summer and returns to New York where he was competitive at this level at Belmont Park and Aqueduct.

3^rd race – (5) Madera was claimed from her debut in a $20,000 maiden race at Belmont where she had the lead and then finished third. Preference goes to more lightly raced horses in these spots over those with lots of tries. (1) Hot Button makes her third career start and drops to this $30,000 level, gets blinkers on, and switches from turf to dirt. Trainer Brad Cox has very good numbers with those kind of changes. (6) Wishes and Dreams ran second last time at Saratoga for a $20,000 tag when she finished between two fillies that came back to win their next starts. (8) Please ships up to Belmont from a third-place finish at Gulfstream Park for a $40,000 tag and cuts back in distance from a mile to 6.5 furlongs for Mark Hennig.

5^th race – (6) Bustin to Please (C) was bet down from 5-2 to be a 7-5 second choice in an open company claimer where she finished second after setting the pace and was claimed by Horatio DePaz back in August at Saratoga. Now she comes back in this $25,000 claimer against NY-breds. (7) Awesome Alana exits a third against open company and Linda Rice cuts her back from a mile to this six furlong sprint. Rice grabbed her for $25,000 at Aqueduct in the Spring and since then also has a second in a race similar to this spot. (1) Forgotten Hero was a front-end winner for $16,000 at the beginning of the month at Belmont and moves back to state-bred racing and gets Luis Saez on board. (4) Jc’s Shooting Star will drop in for a tag after racing in state-bred allowances and stakes. The 8-year-old mare is always competitive and should appreciate the class relief.

9^th race – (1) Hurricane Breeze makes that first appearance in a N2L condition after racing in an open claimer and in starter allowances for Mike Maker. The significant class relief will make her a serious win contender in this seven-furlong turf race. (10) Corey Scores was claimed from Brad Cox in a similar spot by Linda Rice where she ran third. She had a narrow loss in a starter allowance three races back. (4) Marquet Legacy was fourth in a similar spot last time out after a three month layoff. (12) Alley to Calvary was third last time while turf sprinting six furlongs. Joel Rosario stays on board which is a positive sign.

Best bets:  Fried Rice King (1^st); Hurricane Breeze (9^th). Best value:  Madera (3^rd); Bustin to Please (5^th).