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 [Md 20000, 1 mi] – (1) Bernie Goes Boom and (1A) Damage make a Mike Miceli trained entry where both of them are win contenders. (4) Willingness gets blinkers on after flashing some early speed as he dropped into this claiming level. (3) Belmont Union is a first-time starter in a race where the experienced runners have suspect form. (6) Tino in Toga returns in a week after doing very little running. He does have one decent race two starts ago.

4^th race [NY, Md 30000, 1 mi] – (3) Fast Amendment drops out of two maiden special weights for Linda Rice with a second in his debut at Finger Lakes. (6) Allofasuddenlee was second at this level two races back. (5) Albedo has a pair of third-place finishes in similar spots in his last two races. (1) Neptune Beach had his best recent finish in fourth after having the lead and last time had to check and lost all chance.

7^th race [Alw 50000s, 1 mi – (2) Scat Tu Tap comes back in nine days after running third and earning his top speed figure. (3) Melt With You was a winner three starts ago in a $25,000 claimer and gets blinkers on now. (8) Berning Beauty broke his maiden three races back for $30,000 and then move into $40,000 N2L claimers where he was fifth and then second. (6) The Monopoly Man had a pair of thirds and seconds from his last five races and was claimed twice for $50,000 and $40,000.

8^th race [Clm 16000 N2L, 7F] – (1) Political Spin was a maiden winner for a $20,000 tag last time for Linda Rice. (6) Short Shift set the pace in his last two starts and finished second both times. He was claimed for $16,000 and then tried a $20,000 race. Blinkers go on today. (7) Accelerina pressed the pace and finished second by a nose and third at this level. (5) Alley’s Song was third in a similar spot with an improved effort.

Best bets: Miceli entry (2^nd); Fast Amendment (4^th). Best value: Scat Tu Tap (7^th); Political Spin (8^th).