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.

4^th race [Md 75000 N3L, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (3) Artempus (A) raced in five maiden special weights. Last time he broke through the gate prerace and was involved in a rough stretch run. (5) Sandborn (C) was bet down from 5-1 to 7-2 in his second start for Cherie DeVaux and finished with good courage to get second. (8) John the Baptist ran second last time after getting the lead in the stretch. (4) Call Protection pressed the pace last month in his only start of the year and finished second in a maiden special weight and drops in for a tag for the first time.

6^th race [Md Sp Wt, 1 mi] – (9) T Kraft (B) set a fast pace in his second start for Bill Mott and got caught by a Chad Brown closer. (8) Noble Confessor pressed the pace of the Hot List horse in this field and finished third in his debut for Todd Pletcher at 9-2. (3) Fiddling Felix had some trouble at the beginning of both of his starts and improved from there. (2) Filoso had trouble early in his first start and should do better with experienced gained.

7^th race [Md Sp Wt, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (4) Vintage Vino (B) broke open the gate before the race, had to check early on, and then rallied from the back for second. (1) Right to Vote (C) has been off since October when he made a big step forward in his second start for Chad Brown after getting bet down from 13-1 to 9-1 and switching to the grass. (8) Act of Mutiny had good turf races as a 2-year-old and then did not appreciate the synthetic surface at Gulfstream Park in March. (9) Inherent Promise has three top three finishes in a row recently.

11^th race [Md Sp Wt, 5 ½ F TURF] – (2) Creditworthy (A) was second in his debut as part of an odds-on entry for Chad Brown but was well clear of the rest of the field. (6) Speed Figures (B) was entered in a Saratoga race that came off the turf where he set the pace and finished second at 5-1. (1) Proton Spirit will make his first start of the year getting Lasix and blinkers for the first time after some good efforts in 2023. (8) Reverend Moon will also make his first start of the year with an excellent turf sprint last year.

Best bets: T Kraft (6^th); Creditworthy (11^th). Best value: Artempus (4^th); Vintage Vino (11^th).