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 [NY, Md 40000, 6F] – (2) Itsalittlebitfunny finished second in his debut, got claimed for $25,000, and is expected to be on the lead as the new trainer moves him up a notch. (3) Steerage has a pair of seconds in his last three starts and should be part of the early pace. (5) Quackenbush caught a sloppy track in his debut at odds of 12-1 and should improve if the track is fast. (6) Silent Running will drop into a claimer for the second time and move from turf to dirt. He was third the last time he ran at this level.

2^nd race [OC50k/SAL 50k, 6F] – (6) Joey Freshwater broke his maiden by five lengths at Churchill Downs in his second start beating a horse that came back to win and was claimed from there by Linda Rice for $50,000. (5) Larz was a debut winner by eight lengths in a $30,000 claimer at Aqueduct at odds of 5-1. He should be on the lead against this field. (2) Swifty Devil ships up to New York with top three finishes in 6 out of 7 starts. Last race he was on the lead and was second in a Laurel Park allowance. (4) Bobby the Tank was claimed from his maiden win for $40,000 and came back for Linda Rice to run second in a race like today.

5^th race [Clm 25000, 6F] – (7) Caribbean (C) was bet down from 5-1 to 5-2, got caught in a speed duel, finished third, and was claimed. (2) O’Trouble was claimed from three races in a row and then was second in a starter allowance after leading the race. He is projected to be able to get loose on the lead in this open claimer. (8) Cash Now makes a significant drop in class from four second-level allowance races. (3) Ballydooley moves from turf to dirt after last running on the main track back in 2021. Recent turf races were very good.

6^th race [Md 20000, 6F] – (2) Mostly Harmless (C) was bet down from 7-1 to 7-2 when she finished second at this level after having the lead. (4) Afilada will drop down to the lowest level of her career where she has seven top three finishes from 11 starts. (6) Ricelle ran the best speed figure of her career when she was second last time and now cuts back from a one-turn mile. (3) Gracefully Wild had a poor start that kept her from getting to her usual pace pressing position.

Best bets:   Itsalittlebitfunny (1^st); Joey Freshwater (2^nd). Best value:  Caribbean (5^th); Mostly Harmless (6^th)