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.

2^nd race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 1 1/16 mi] – (5) Battleoflexington (C) was bet down from 7-1 to 5-1 and finished third after a wide trip. (3) Refuah has plenty of past races that make him a contender in this field, although his last two were not good. (2) Union Trail pressed the pace in his prior start on a sloppy track when he was moving back to the dirt racing. With only three career starts, he has some upside. (1) Gossiping Pando made his first career start just 10 days ago on the turf at 9-1 and now moves to the dirt for Linda Rice whose debuting horses usually need a race.

7^th race [OC 62k/N2X, 1 1/4 mi TURF – (7) Shad Nation (A) has two races back since turf racing returned in the spring. Last time she set the pace but checked sharply when impeded at the 1/8 pole losing all chance. (8) Myriskyaffair also has two races since taking the winter off and missed the win by a nose while improving her speed figures. (6) Federalist Papers was third going a long distance on the grass in her first start of the year for Brendan Walsh. (1) Arina has a third and a second in her two most recent starts for Chad Brown to go with a Group 3 victory in Germany last year.

9^th race [NY, Alw 80000 N1X, 6F TURF] – (3) Be of Courage (C) was bet down from 8-1 to 6-1 and rallied from last to miss the win by less than a length after a wide trip. (1) Ortus cutback to a sprint on the grass in his first start against winners in an allowance. (5) Golden Arm won at first asking and then was fourth in a deep allowance field where the first two finishers came back to win their next start. (4) Eddie the Great made his 2023 debut last month and was second in an open company claimer.

10^th race [Alw 95000 N1X, 1 1/4 mi TURF] – (9) Anatolian (A) moved back to the turf in her second start of the year and finished second beaten by a half-length after stumbling during the race. (5) Highland Grace raced in a few strong fields and then got her maiden win at Belmont. (3) Out of Sight made two starts this year with improved speed figures with the most recent coming in a NY-bred stakes race. (2) Lullaby Land moved up from the claiming ranks to finish third in her most recent start behind the top choice.

Best bets: Battleoflexington (2^nd); Anatolian (10^th). Best value: Shad Nation (7^th); Be of Courage (9^th).