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

1^st race [Md 20000, 6F] – (2) Will Be Famous set the pace and finished second well ahead of the rest of the field at 2-1. (5) Stormandy was third after he dropped down to this level and looks to be on the lead in here. (7) Uncle Dan returns from an October layoff and drops down to this lowest level claimer as a new gelding for a barn that has top three finishes with 50% of their starters. (6) Warrior Richard was the favorite in his last start when he dropped to this level and ran second.

3^rd race [Alw 50000s, 6F] – (5) Preposterous (B) raced very wide and finished third after rallying on a sloppy track that was favoring speed horses. (3) Diamond Collector fits really well at this level with a third last time as the even money favorite for a barn that is having a very good winter meeting. (1) Big Bean Christine was a winner two races back in a N2L condition where he was claimed. New trainer Ray Handal moved him up to finish third in a NY-bred allowance. (4) Cupids Girl has three second-place finishes in a row and may get a good pace set-up here.

4^th race [Clm 32000, 7F] – (5) Outlaw Country finds a field that is loaded with front-running types which sets up his closing style well and Dylan Davis gets back on board. (6) Rol Again Dancer changes barns as he comes back from a December layoff. He faced strong competition in his last three starts. (1) Larz tried a starter allowance in his first start following and open-length victory in a $30,000 maiden claimer. (7) Basic Truth was a front-end winner by more than nine lengths at 5-2 in a $20,000 maiden claimer in his second start. It feels like trainer Patrick Reynolds was lucky to not lose the horse last time.

5^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6F] – (3) Miracle Mike returns from a layoff after his second start at Saratoga. In his debut he was second on a sloppy track at Belmont Park at 5.50-1 for Todd Pletcher. (5) Lifetime of Chance has four top three finishes in his career. He had his highest speed figure last time when he was second beaten by less than a length. He ran against strong fields in his first three races. (4) Pop Coyer made one start and that was at Saratoga at 7-1. He comes back for new trainer David Duggan who is having an excellent meeting with horses he got from trainer Rick Schosberg who retired. (6) Disarmed was claimed two races back for $40,000 and is projected to be on the lead.

Best bets:  Will Be Famous (1^st); Miracle Mike (5^th). Best value:  Preposterous (3^rd); Outlaw Country (4^th).