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 [Birdstone, 1 ¾ mi] – (5) Next with 7 wins from his last 8 starts is about as close to a sure thing as there is in horse racing. This long-distance specialist won his last four races by a total of 57 length including this race last year. (4) Time for Trouble was competitive in his last four starts in stakes races. (2) Masqueparade won a long-distance stakes at Oaklawn in March and was third in the Suburban (G3). (1) Slip Mahoney has past races that give him a chance to hit the top three.

3^rd race [Clm 25000, 1 1/8 mi] – (6) Colloquy has been off since May and drops back into the claiming ranks where he was taken three times in a row after finishing first or second each time. (4) Higher Quality was first and then third in his last two starts while racing for a tag. (7) Take the Charge makes a big drop in claiming price back to a level at which he was a winner. (2) Kahala has been popular in the claim box in Kentucky recently for Tom Amoss.

4^th race [Md 40000, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (8) Kick a Buck will drop into a maiden claimer for the first time after three starts. (9) Vincita tried to run on the grass three times, but the races got moved to the main track including last month when he was third and got claimed. (11) John the Baptist improved in his third start and drops down to the lowest level of his career now. (5) Bad Boy Butch gets Irad Ortiz for his debut showing a recent work on the turf.

9^th race [Adirondack (G3), 6 ½ F] – (2) Italian Soiree (A) was sent off at 5-2 in his debut which she won by more than five lengths last month at Aqueduct. (9) The Queens M G won the Schuylerville at Saratoga on opening day as a ridiculous overlay at 44-1. (8) White Sands won her first two starts by a combined margin of 23 lengths, first at Belterra Park and then in a stakes race at Prairie Meadows against the boys. (5) Social Fortress won her first at Delaware Park by 11 lengths at 5-2.

Best bets: Next (2^nd); Kick a Buck (4^th). Best value: Colloquy (3^rd); Italian Soiree (9^th).