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 [OC 62k/N2X, 6 ½ F] – (1) Nabokov (A) ran a big race in defeat last time when he set the pace, battled down the stretch, and lost a headbob. (4) Monday Morning Qb is expected to be the lone speed as he drops down and returns to Aqueduct where he just missed a win at this level. (3) Sheriff Bianco is a hard-knocker that finished in the top three in his last eight races with four wins and runs best at the Big A. (2) King Angelo won the first-level allowance by almost six lengths.

3^rd race [Heavenly Prize, 1 mi] – (5) Falconet won the nine-furlong Ladies on Jan. 1 earning the best speed figure of her career with a stalking trip. The Todd Pletcher runner finished first or second in all but one of her seven career starts. (2) Battle Bling was second in the Ladies behind Falconet after winning the Turnback the Alarm (G3) at Aqueduct in November. That was her third victory in a row for Rob Atras. (1) Frost Point was last seen in December winning a second-level allowance at Aqueduct for Bill Mott. She has a pair of third-place finishes in stakes races and one of them was behind Battle Bling. (3) Mommasgottarun has a pair of seconds in allowance races since Linda Rice claimed her for $50,000.

7^th race [Md Sp Wt, 1 mi] – (9) Ride Up (A) was third in his debut for Linda Rice. He dropped to the back of the field from the kickback and then rallied wide into a slow pace to finish third. (1) Register ran second in both of his starts for David Donk with improved speed figures and is projected to get loose on the lead. (4) Power in Numbers was second in his debut as a heavy favorite for Chad Brown. (8) There Be Dragons was third in his two starts for Todd Pletcher.

9^th race [Alw 50000s, 1 mi] – (8) Son of an Ex (B) finished third in his last start after rallying seven-wide in a NY-bred allowance. (7) Afjan was second in a similar allowance in his first start after getting claimed for $40,000 by Tom Morley. (5) Allaboutthemoney exits a pair of second-place finishes with the most recent happening just a week ago in his first start for David Jacobson. (2) Big Valenzuela also was second in his last two races and can get to a clear lead in this field that is lacking in speed.

Best bets: Nabokov (2^nd); Falconet (3^rd). Best value: Ride Up (7^th); Son of an Ex (9^th).

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 covers races 2-4 and includes the Heavenly Prize  à 1 with ALL with 4 = $5.