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.

2^nd race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6 ½ F] – (7) Humstinger (A) had the lead in his debut, lost a head bob, and finished far ahead of the rest. (5) Vitalize will cut back from a mile after running fifth when he moved from turf to dirt. (1) Omey Island changes trainers, moves from turf to dirt, leaves the west coast, has shown speed in the past and shows up as a new gelding. (2) Ferris Muler moves from turf to dirt.

5^th race [Moc 50000, 7F] – (6) Gaga’s Hamsome was second last time in his fourth start which was at today’s level. (7) Tale of the Tail was fourth in his debut at 7-2 and drops into this OC maiden. (3) Melancia pressed the pace and finished third at 5-2 when she moved from her first start in a maiden special weight. (8) Yayi Nikolle was steadied at the start of her first race at 7-1 and gets blinkers on.

7^th race [OC 62k/N2X, 7F] – (6) Alternate Reality (B) got jostled at the top of the stretch and gamely battled to get second going a mile. (10) Classic Legacy returned from a short layoff, pressed the pace, and finished third at this level. (11) Squire Creek was third in a strong edition of this kind of second-level allowance while running a career best speed figure. (2) General Banker was a high priced claimed the last three times he ran for a tag. Last time out he missed winning a NY Stallion Series stakes by a neck.

8^th race [Queens County, 1 1/8 mi] – (1) Masmak (A) beat a stakes quality field last month and now has won two races in a row. (7) Law Professor won this race last year along with another stakes and a pair of allowances. He came back from a five month layoff to win an allowance going the nine furlong distance at which he won four times. (4) Phileas Fogg comes back from a September layoff after winning a pair of allowances. (10) Surface to Air won a Keeneland allowance and last time got disqualified from first to fourth in a race at today’s distance.

Best bets: Humstinger (2^nd); Gaga’s Hamsome (5^th). Best value: Alternate Reality (7^th); Masmak (8^th).