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 [R, Md Sp Wt, 7F] – (3) Secret Lover (B) got sandwiched between horses in his debut, then checked badly and made-up ground to finish fourth for trainer Antonio Sano who has 3 wins from 6 starts at Saratoga. (8) Walstib pressed the pace, had the lead, and missed the win by a neck in his debut just two weeks ago at the Spa. (2) Catire Vizcaya set the pace and finished second in his first start ahead of a return winner. He is projected to get a clear lead in this field. (4) Threewhitesoldiers was fourth in his initial career start behind an open length winner who is headed to a stakes race at Monmouth Park this weekend.

2^nd race [NY, Alw 95000 N1X, 5 ½ F TURF] – (1) City Mischief (A) should have won his prior race but he stumbled three times and the jockey lost his irons. / (1A) Image of Quality (D) ate a ton of dirt on the rail after a slow start and was bet down from 9-1 to 7-1. (8) Volkert since returning to the turf in the spring raced against open company and got a win for a $35,000 tag in his last race. (2) Ortus rallied from seventh place to finish second in a similar state-bred spot at Belmont Park in July. (5) Kreesa has been racing at today’s allowance level in his last few starts with improving results.

3^rd race [Alw 50000s, 1 1/8 mi] – (4) Mistical Curlin broke his maiden by 19 lengths back in May, then ran in a pair of starter allowances, and may get loose on the lead in this field. (7) Mighty Atlas was second in his last race at this level for Michael Maker whose barn has gotten hot in the second half of the Saratoga meeting. (6) Watasha was claimed from his last three races including from a victory for $40,000 after a wide trip. (3) Money Supply was also claimed from a win by Joe Sharp in his most recent start where he was a winner and earned one of his best speed figures.

4^th race [OC 62k/N2X, 6F] – (1) Scocciatore won last month at this allowance condition and comes right back with the $62,500 claiming and has a speed advantage in this field. (7) Milton the Monster made a big jump in speed figures when he was second by a neck at this level last time. He was claimed three races in a row before that and is back in for a tag now. (8) Sky and Sand was an open length winner on the lead three weeks ago in a $50,000 claimer. (3) Osbourne has past races that make him a contender in this spot.

5^th race [OC 62k/N2X, 1 3/16 mi TURF] – (7) James Aloysius has some early speed which gives him a chance to control this race on the front end. He was third in a stakes race at Monmouth back in May. (1) Dynadrive has been racing in graded stakes recently and drops back to this level at which he was a winner last time. (2) Catch That Party won in the final NY-bred allowance condition in June at Belmont for Maker. (6) Nobel will make his first American start for Brandon Walsh who wins with this type at a 29% rate.

6^th race [Md Sp Wt, 6F] – (2) Colonial Rose was steadied in the stretch and dropped back in her debut but still held on for second. (3) Antenna broke slowly in his first start at 5-1 for Todd Pletcher and then just missed the win by a head at Monmouth Park. (4) Shop Lifting shows two bullet workouts at Saratoga in preparation for her first start. She is by Into Mischief and is out of a mare that was a graded stakes winner of $1.1 million. (9) Just F Y I will make her debut for Bill Mott and is from a stakes place mare who has 2 winners from 2 starters.

7^th race [Forego (G1), 7F] – (3) Elite Power will try and win his eighth race in a row and keep his record at Saratoga perfect. Although the winning margin of his last race was only a head, he was the one that was doing the best running at the end of the Vanderbilt (G1). (2) Gunite set the pace and had the lead in the Vanderbilt but was run down by the powerful move from the top choice. He also lost to Elite Power in February in Saudi Arabia. (1) High Oak got back to the potential that he flashed when he won the first two starts in his career with a second in an allowance last month. (4) Pipeline (A) got stuck on a dead rail, got the lead, but then weakened.

8^th race [Alw 149500 N1X, 5 ½ TURF] – (3) Handsome Cat (A) got off to a slow start when he was taken up, was then heavily restrained, still managed to finish second, and got claimed. (6) Highly Flammable won a starter allowance turf sprint at Saratoga after an awkward start with a competitive speed figure. (4) Talkin Pharoah won his last two races including a starter allowance for Linda Rice and Jose Ortiz. (12) Southern Horse will make his first start in the east after leaving California to race for David Jacobson. His speed figures at Santa Anita were better than most of this field.

9^th race [H. Allen Jerkens (G1), 7F] – (5) New York Thunder is undefeated in four starts with two at Gulfstream Park as a 2-year-old with one on the grass and one on the Tapeta surface. He then got a stakes win at Woodbine on their artificial surface and then romped on the dirt at Saratoga in the Amsterdam (G2) earning a 110 Beyer Speed Figure. Combined he won those four races by 23 lengths. (6) Arabian Lion won the Woody Stephens (G1) at Belmont Park for Bob Baffert and will probably be the favorite. (4) Fort Bragg won the Dwyer (G3) at Belmont and now cuts back in distance to the seven furlongs where he will have to show sprint speed. (3) Verifying won the Indiana Derby (G3) last time and will also move back to sprinting.

10^th race [Ballerina (G1), 7F] – (6) Echo Zulu has two open lengths victories this year with a spectacular performance last time in the Honorable Miss (G2) that earned a 112 BSF. (7) Goodnight Olive won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint and was last year’s Champion Female Sprinter. This year she has 2 wins from 3 races and has never finished worse than third in her 10 starts. (5) Wicked Halo won her last start in a stakes race at Ellis Park. (2) Matareya won the Derby City Distaff (G1) over Wicked Halo and Goodnight Olive.

11^th race [Sword Dancer (G1), 1 ½ mi TURF] – (1) Soldier Rising lost all chance when he got bumped very hard and had to check with a quarter mile to go in the Bowling Green (G2) at Saratoga. He has several top three finishes in Grade 1 races for Chad Brown. (2) Verstappen was second in the Bowling Green and is a past Grade 2 winner at Keeneland in April. (6) Channel Maker added to his impressive career when the 9-year-old won the Bowling Green on the front-end and now has almost won $4 million. (7) Stone Age is the other Chad Brown runner in the field. He was second in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1).

12^th race [Travers (G1), 1 1/4 mi] – (2) Arcangelo returns from his victory in the Belmont Stakes (G1) more than two months ago. Right after the win trainer Jena Antonucci planned to train up to the Travers and reports are that he is thriving. Javier Castellano stays on board looking for his seventh victory in the Midsummer Derby. (1) Forte won the Jim Dandy after running second in the Belmont after he was forced to miss the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. The 2-year-old Champion is the horse to beat and is likely to be a heavy favorite. (4) Mage has two losses in the Preakness and the Haskell since winning the Kentucky Derby. Jockey Luis Saez was injured and Flavien Prat will ride Mage for the first time. (7) Scotland is the winner of 3 out of 4 starts including the Curlin at Saratoga last month. The son of Good Magic made his first start in March and has improved in each of his starts for trainer Bill Mott who will try and get his first Travers victory.

13^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 1 mi TURF] – (1) Right to Win / (1A) Growth Capital is a Chad Brown entry where both are win contenders. (8) Torigo finished second in his 2023 debut after appearing in the Pilgrim (G3) last year. (2) Fly Right has a pair of seconds this year and gets a pass for a poor performance on the main track last time at Saratoga. (3) Conversing ran second twice last year and one of them was against a return winner.

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $4 Pick 3 on races 1 – 3 ends with the Jerkens (G1) à 3 with 1 with ALL  = $28.

No.	Name	Letter last race	Today's Race	Comments
(3)	Secret Lover	B on 8/10	1	He got sandwiched, checked badly, and finished fourth.
(1)	City Mischief	A on 7/28	2	Should have won but stumbled and jock lost irons.
(1A)	Image of Quality	D on 8/17	2	Ate a lot of dirt on the rail after steadying early.
(4)	Pipeline	A on 8/3	7	Stuck on a dead rail, had the lead, but weakened.
(3)	Handsome Cat	A on 8/19	8	Slow start, heavily restrained, still got second, claimed.
(15)	Lucency	B on 7/21	13	Entered for Main Track Only.