Belmont Park Hotlist - June 17

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Friday, June 17, 2022 at Belmont Park
                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.

1^st race [Md Sp Wt, 1 1/8 TURF mi] – (2) Contemporary Art (A) was second in her debut for Chad Brown against a very strong field where it was a blanket finish for the win spot by the top three finishers. (4) Sahlabiya (A) was in the same race as the top choice and finished third after she had the lead in the stretch also for Brown. (6) Rosia Bay was fourth in her first start at Keeneland behind three horses that won their next starts including the winner that has three in a row now including a G3 victory. (1) Personal Best had the lead in her last start and ended up third at Keeneland for Shug McGaughey.

5^th race [Clm 30000 N2L, 7F TURF] – (6) Write This Down (D) moved back to the grass but was taken up on the backstretch out of contention after getting bet down from 8-1 to 6-1. (8) Constitutionalrage was fourth in her 2022 debut after the winter off. (1) Rigby won a maiden special weight and then raced in stakes and allowances only. This will be her first start in a N2L condition. (3) Highway Queen had an improved effort in an allowance and she also moves to the N2L ranks for the first time.

6^th race [NY, OC 45k/N2X, 6F] – (6) Wailin Josie (B) was steadied on the rail and finished third last time in a similar spot. (4) Khali Magic hit the board in her last seven starts, four of them in this allowance condition. (5) Big Q returned to this NY-bred allowance condition and finished second after a N3L claiming victory from which she was taken. (2) Pretty Clever is in good form this year with a first-level allowance victory and then a third.

7^th race [NY, Md 40000, 6F TURF] – (3) Gracefully Wild (C) tried the turf for the first time in her second start of the year and missed the win by a neck while being bet from 9-2 to 5-2. (8) Giggling Ghost showed a big improvement in her first start on the grass as she moved up to the maiden special weight ranks. (4) Lemme Get It had one start last year where she flashed early speed in a turf sprint. She will get Lasix for the first time. (5) Crosstalk drops into a maiden claimer for the first time after pressing the pace last time.

Best bets:  Comtemporary Art (1^st); Wailin Josie (6^th). Best value:  Write This Down (5^th); Gracefully Wild (7^th).