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.

3^rd race [NY, Alw 72000 N1X, 7F] – (2) Major Spin (B) lost all chance at the start of his last race when he lunged out of the gate and was last as a horse that does his best pressing the pace. (5) Dangerous Edge (C) was bet down from 7-1 to 9-2 and finished third at this level for the second race in a row. (7) Awesome Native was an impressive debut winner for Jorge Abreu at odds of 2-1 by more than five lengths. (4) Forty Two Ace is a bit of an in and outer meaning that he runs well every other race and is due for a good performance here.

7^th race [Alw 50000s, 6F] – (6) Ikigai set the pace, got caught at the wire, and was claimed for $35,000 by Michelle Gianguilio and is projected to get loose on the lead. (7) Jake Rocks was a front-end winner of a $25,000 claimer and was taken by Rob Atras who has a very hot barn and has been improving horses new to his barn. (3) Liam’s Fire moved up to a starter allowance and ran a big race rallying for second while earning one of the best speed figures of his career. (2) Blinding Light has been off since November when he ran second twice at this starter allowance level.

8^th race [Busanda, 1 1/8 mi] – (1) Gambling Girl finished third in the Demoiselle (G2) beaten by just a length after rallying a bit wide on a muddy track. She is the only stakes winner in the field having won a NY-bred stake in September. (3) Affirmative Lady was second in the Demoiselle as a maiden. She had the lead in the stretch and lost by a neck in the end. The top two choices lost to the promising Julia Shining who is a full sister the Malathaat and hold a significant class advantage. (2) Occult broke her maiden in her second start by more than four lengths last month for Chad Brown at odds of 9-2 and may be able to get loose on the lead. (5) Aniston was also an easy maiden winner in her second try by almost five lengths for Todd Pletcher at 3-1.

9^th race [Alw 82000 N1X, 1 mi] – (5) Patient Capital (C) is in excellent form with three seconds and a win two races back in a starter allowance. Last time she was bet down from                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        8-1 to 9-2. (2) Complete Agenda was a winner of a starter allowance in his first start after a claim by Linda Rice. (3) Money Supply gets blinkers on after a third and a second at this allowance level. (1) Mauritius will make his first start for the Rob Atras barn and that means improvement is expected.

Best bets: Major Spin (3^rd); Patient Capital (9^th). Best value: Ikigai (7^th); Gambling Girl (8^th).

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 covers races 7-9 and includes the Busanda  à 2, 3, 6, 7 with 1, 3 with 1, 2, 3, 5 = $32.