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.

1^st race [Md Sp Wt, 7F] – (3) Liam’s Champ (A) hopped at the start of her second start, got stuck behind a wall of horses, and got third after a hole eventually opened. (5) Pitch Clock will make her debut for the team of Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables. (2) Nobleandgreenough is the name of a prep school in New England who makes her career first start for Rob Atras. (1) Accel Rose is another firster for Rob Atras that is out of a dam that has produced two winners from four to start.

3^rd race [OC 62k/N2X, 1 mi] – (2) Uncle Moonlight (B) tossed his head at the start last time and got taken up early. He rushed up to get the lead but faded to third. (6) Kinetic Sky finished in the top three in his last five starts including the last two which were in N3X allowances, so he drops in for a tag for first time in four starts. He has never finished off the board in five starts at Aqueduct. (4) Milton the Monster got outrun in the Toboggan (G3) and now drops back to an optional claimer for the $62,500 tag where he won twice. (3) Classier was moved from Bob Baffert to Brittany Russell. His last two starts in California were bad but he is a past Grade 3 winner.

4^th race [Busher Invitational, 1 mi] – (3) Ziaerati (A) was an easy winner of her debut race by almost 10 lengths beating a horse that came back to win her next start. Her winning speed figure was the highest of any horse in this field. (6) Asset Purchase won her first race by eight lengths at odds of 7-2 for Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables. (2) Capella is unbeaten in two starts for Brad Cox in two races on the Tapeta surface at Turfway Park as the favorite both times. (5) Shidabhuti is also unbeaten in two starts with closing moves but she is from the connections of Chad Brown and Peter Brant.

5^th race [Clm 25000, 1 mi] – (8) Advanced Strategy (D) was claimed from her last two starts for $45,000 and was bet down from 6-2 to 5-2 and now drops down to a $25,000 claimer. (4) Optic Way (B) pressed a fast pace while racing wide on a track that was favoring the inside paths and had the lead but faded.  The NJ-bred was claimed from her last two starts. (9) Jalen Journey will drop down to his lowest level as a winner 10 times in his career for trainer Norman Cash who is always a threat to win. (3) My Friends Beer was claimed from 2 out of 3 races, last time for $16,000 when he was second.

Best bets: Liam’s Champ (1^st); Ziaerati (4^th). Best value: Uncle Moonlight (3^rd); Advanced Strategy (5^th).

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 covers races 3- and includes the Busher  à 2, 4, 6 with 2, 3, 5, 6 with 4, 8, 9 = $36.