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 worst
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.

1^st race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6F] – (7) Liberty Central (B) was second in his debut behind a very good winner and was well clear of the rest of the field while racing on the wrong lead down the stretch. (9) Big Prankster has a pair of place finishes in his two starts with one on the turf and one on the dirt. (3) Hair On Fire was sent off at 7-1 in his debut and finished fifth for a trainer that is better with second-time starters. (2) Perno will make his first start for the Bond barn which is good with young horses.

4^th race [NY, Md 30000, 1 mi] – (5) Seba M (B) broke last and got far behind in his first start when the rider lost his iron. He was able to rally to fourth once he and the jockey got back in stride. (1) In a Minute gets blinkers on and drops from three maiden special weights where he showed some early speed with a third-place finish going a mile. (8) King Freud will move from turf to dirt with a speed figure that tops this field. (3) Drinking Solo made a big improvement when he dropped into an open company maiden claimer and ran second.

6^th race [Alw 90000 N1X, 7F] – (1) Allaboutthemoney (C) took late money, got to the lead and was beaten by only a neck, and was claimed. (3) Overstep returns from a 10-month layoff after winning both the NY-bred allowance races at Aqueduct. His only loss in four starts was by a half-length in a state-bred stakes race. (2) Power Seeker was a debut winner at Keeneland then had a year layoff, ran third in a $62,500 claimer at the Kentucky track, and was taken by Linda Rice. (5) Ocean’s Reserve won through his NY-bred allowance conditions and since then has a second and third in today’s condition.

9^th race [Remsen (G2), 1 1/8 mi] – (7) Sierra Leone (A) raced greenly in the early stages of his debut and once settled he had a powerful closing move last month to get the win. (8) Where’s Chris won the Nashua at Aqueduct last month going a mile with a big jump in speed figures for the red hot barn of Rick Dutrow. (4) Moonlight broke his maiden by eight-lengths after he moved from turf to dirt and then was second in the Street Sense (G3) at Churchill Downs. (3) Dornoch broke his maiden in his third start at Keeneland after running second in the Sapling at Monmouth Park where he had a bad trip.

Best bets: Liberty Central (1^st); Sierra Leone (9^th). Best value:  Seba M (4^th); Allaboutthemoney (6^th).

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 covers races 4-6 à 1, 3, 5, 8 with 4, 6 with 1, 2, 3 = $24.