Churchill Downs Hot List - Nov. 14, 2020

Today’s Churchill Downs Hot List races to watch
Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020

By Bob Ehalt and Matt Shifman

Hot List Key:     

A : A preferred horse to watch              B: Secondary horse to watch
*C: Went down 2 or more betting notches in the final 3 minutes 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. 

3rd race – (6) Let It B (B) was an easy front-running maiden winner last time and can stage an encore here. (5) Windy Nations returns to claimers and should be effective here. (3) Bourbon Frontier rallied to break his maiden and is a threat here. Betting strategy: 6 to win, place. Exacta box: 3-5-6. Double: 3-5-6 with 1-2-8-9.

4th race - (2) Keep Your Distance has turned in a string of solid efforts at sprint distances and look best in this spot. (5) Jungle Juice won a similar race last time and could be the one to fear. (1) Honey Parade won her last start and can atone for a weak try in her last appearance in a starter race. (3) On Deck flopped last time but can perk up off the claim. Betting strategy: 2 to win, place. Exacta box: 1-2. Exactas: 2-5 over 1-3 and 1-3 over 2-5. 

6th race – (9) Targeted Return (B) was hurt by a wide trip in his debut over a track that titled toward inside runners. Deserves a second chance here on turf. (7) Barista turned in a dull debut but posted a sharp work for this. (5) Wild Story raced wide in her debut and can be a contender here. (4) Sovereign Power makes her third start and this one may be the charm. Betting strategy: 9 to win, place. Exacta box: 4-5-7-9. 

9th race – (8) Perjury Trap steadied while trying to rally in his debut against winners. Should make amends for that setback here. (9) Lake Nakuru had some trouble last week and take a step forward here. (5) Winning Impression might take a liking to turf and merits respect. (7) Parkland flopped against winners after a nice maiden victory but recent works indicate he’ll run better here.  Betting strategy: 8 to win, place. Exacta box: 5-7-8-9. Doubles: 5-7-8-9 with 1-2-5-7.

10th race – (7) Bet Your Bankroll (B) had a rough start quickly fell 10 lengths behind. Rallied to finish third and could atone for that loss here. (2) Beauty Day (D) was bet down from 9-5 to 6-5 then tracked the leaders but came up empty. Look for a bounce-back effort here at a lower level. (1) Templuna bobbled last time and didn’t fire. She could wake up here. (5) Tuff Bird exits a frontrunning maiden win and might be hard to reel in here. Betting strategy: 7 to win, place. Exacta box: 1-2-5-7. 

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