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 [OC 62k/N2X, 1 mi] – (1) Artorius (C) was bet down from 5-1 to 3-1 in his 2024 debut for Chad Brown, finished third, and Irad Ortiz gets back on board. (3) Aggregation pressed the pace, got the lead, and missed the win by a head for Brown. (4) Perform returns from a July layoff when he was seen in the Curlin at Saratoga and the Preakness. (5) Power Seeker had a significant increase in speed figures in his last two races.

2^nd race [NY, Md 30000, 1 mi] – (1) Arco Augusta (A) got steadied twice in the stretch and then lost a head bob for the win. (3) Janssen has three second-place finishes in a row in maiden claimers while pressing the pace. (5) Savage Spirit hit the board in his last three starts. (7) Watch Hill gets Lasix for the first time with a couple of second-places.

3^rd race [Alw 100000 N1X, 1 mi TURF] – (2) Masterof the Tunes (B) got bumped and checked at the start in her first start of the year forcing her to be last as a horse that prefers to be on the lead. (1) Startup Mentality rallied from last to miss the win by a nose in her first start of the year which was an allowance at Tampa Bay Downs for Chad Brown. (6) Lady Beth will make her first start of the year. Last year she finished third in the Soaring Softly (G3) at Belmont Park also for Brown. (3) Vino Rouge debuted on the turf last year and then was second in the Tempted at Aqueduct. She will get Lasix for the first time and blinkers come off after one try with them in December.

4^th race [Alw 100000 N1X, 1 1/8 mi] – (1) Seeking Unity will move back to allowance company after running second and then first in a pair of starter allowances. (3) Reddington had a poor performance last month after a short layoff that followed three victories in a row including two in claimers and a starter allowance. (2) Grandpa’s Kid moved from a starter allowance win to a fifth-place in a $50,000 open claimer. (4) Mistical Curlin was third in an allowance in his second start of the year.

Best bets: Artorius (1^st); Arco Augusta (2^nd). Best value: Masterof the Tunes (3^rd); Seeking Unity (4^th).