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 [Md 20000, 6 ½ F] – (7) Dialbolico was second and third in his last two starts at this level. (3) True Connection was claimed two races back for $20,000 when he was third and then was fourth in his first start for the new trainer. (2) Solo Flight has four top three finishes from nine starts racing in open company and against NY-breds. (9) Henry’s Hope gets first-time Lasix and blinkers on as he takes a drop down in class and was third in his debut in November for a $50,000 tag.

2^nd race [OC 62K/N2X, 7F] – (4) Bramito ran the best race of his career when he rallied to win an optional-claiming starter allowance and was taken for $32,000. (6) General Partner is the horse to beat. He was second in the Champagne (G1) and set the pace in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. After seven-months off, he won an allowance at Saratoga in June by five-lengths with a triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure. He will make another come back after 10 months. (1) Gun It was claimed for $32,000 after running third at a mile. He moves back to seven-furlongs which is his preferred distance. (2) Toxic Gray has plenty of early speed that makes him a contender.

3^rd race [NY, Md 30000, 6 ½ F] – (5) Nine N Four (A) had lots of trouble in his last race getting bumped twice to get off to a slow start, got back heels clipped and still managed to finish third. (2) Magic Beach set the pace and finished second last time out. (8) Man From Malta was on the lead and was third in a January start for $40,000 and then came back in a week against open company. (9) I Can See That made his second start a year ago and finished second and that was after a year off for $45,000 against open company. Now, he is back after another year off.

4^th race [Clm 10000, 1 mi] – (10) Allure of Money went to the lead in his last two starts and won a $10,000 claimer and was taken. The new trainer moved him up to $20,000 where he faded at the end. (3) Valenzan Day is back in the Linda Rice barn for the fourth time. She claimed him back most recently for $16,000 and then tried a starter allowance. He won four races in a row last year. (1) Cumberland Blues was claimed for $12,500 when he was a winner in November. Recent races were against much tougher competition. (9) Empty Tomb won for $20,000 at Saratoga.

5^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 1 mi] – (9) Dear Chairman has finished three times in the top three at this level. (10) Palace Boss also has good finishes in similar spots and moves back to state-bred competition after trying open company. (1) Dr. Barry was third in her first start of the year going a mile. (6) Coco Sun was second in his first race which was at Charles Town in February and now moves to a New York trainer to face state-breds.

6^th race [Clm 16000B, 1 mi] – (3) Active Duty (D) was claimed two races back by a low-profile trainer who has a very high win percentage of 56% and came back to finish fourth after racing four-wide and got bet down from 6-1 to 3-1. (4) Prove Worthy makes a big drop in class with a few past top three finishes at the $25,000 level. (6) Winter’s Ghost finished second or third in his last four starts most recently at this level in January. (10) Quiet Wisdom tries open company for the first time as he drops out of second-level allowances and is in for a tag for the first time.

7^th race [Distaff (G3), 7F] – (1) Irish Maxima won 5 out of 6 starts with three stakes victories with the last two at Laurel and Parx. (4) St. Benedict’s Prep finished in the top three in 10 out of 11 starts with four wins. His last four races were in stakes at Aqueduct and Laurel. (5) Socially Selective had a third and second in stakes races this winter at Gulfstream and then Aqueduct. (6) Royal Spa is another one that has been racing well in stakes this winter.

8^th race [NY, Alw 76000 N1X, 7F] – (6) Crimson Light (A) comes back after a 15-month layoff for Todd Pletcher when he won his only start rallying from far back to win by a head at Aqueduct. At the start, he walked out of the gate, bucked and kicked, and went eight-wide. (10) Noonzio had a pair of seconds at this level during the winter. (8) Saint Gaudens had an improved third in his second race since a layoff for Chad Brown. (4) Leo’s Reward was a maiden winner in his fourth try for David Donk.

9^th race [Gazelle (G3), 1 1/8 mi] – (2) Ballerina d’Oro finds an easier spot here. She was much closer to the pace when she finished third in the Davona Dale (G2) and earned the highest speed figure in the field when she was second in the Demoiselle (G3) going the nine-furlong distance. Those two starts came after her first three races were on the turf. Dylan Davis is back in the saddle. (3) Vanilla Sundae broke her maiden by almost 16-lengths in February for Todd Pletcher and Repole Stable. (4) Early On was second in the Virginia Oaks in her first start on the road to the Kentucky Oaks. (7) Pure Beauty has the looks of a late-developing runner for Shug McGaughey. She broke her maiden at Gulfstream in January and then ran a strong third in an allowance.

10^th race [Carter Handicap (G2), 7F] – (2) Quint’s Brew got a triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure when he won the General George at Laurel by five-lengths. (4) Full Moon Madness won the Tom Fool (G3) at Aqueduct in March after hitting the board in his last six starts with three wins. (7) Maximus Meridius won twice in Aqueduct winter stakes as part of five races where he was first or second. (3) Surveillance has four second-place finishes in a row as an 8-year-old for Linda Rice.

11^th race [The Excelsior, 1 ¼ mi] – (3) Batten Down who won the Ohio Derby (G3) last year and was second in the Jim Dandy (G2). He was fourth in his 2025 debut against a strong field in the Mineshaft (G3) at Fair Grounds. (1) Film Star won a stakes at Laurel in December for Linda Rice and was a stakes winner at Saratoga this past summer. (6) Phileas Fogg won three out of his last four races including the Queens County at Aqueduct. (8) Masmak has four wins from his six most recent races.

12^th race [Wood Memorial (G2), 1 1/8 mi] – The Wood Memorial (G2) drew a field of twelve 3-year-olds including seven horses that already have some Kentucky Derby points. They will vie for a purse of $750,000 and a share of the qualifying points of 100-50-25-15-10 which go to the top five finishers. (2) Captain Cook won both of his starts since moving to the barn of Rick Dutrow with a nine-length maiden score at Aqueduct and a Derby trail victory in the Withers. Dutrow skipped the Gotham with a preference to go nine furlongs again. (6) Hill Road began his career racing in Ireland and then moved to Chad Brown’s care after coming over to America to run third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile after breaking slowly. In his only race of the year, he was third in the Tampa Derby (G3). (1) Rodriguez ships east for Bob Baffert after running third in the San Felipe (G2) and second in the Robert B. Lewis (G3) on the Derby trail. (12) Omaha Omaha made three starts on the Derby trail with a second in the Jerome, third in the Withers, and third in the Virginia Derby.

13^th race [NY, OC 45k/N2X, 7F] – (10) Sohana will make her 2025 debut for Brad Cox with a record of 7: 2-3-1. Her only off the board finish was a try on the turf. She had a pair of top three finishes in NY Stallion Series stakes. (9) Fast and Frisky won the first-level allowance for state-breds and then was third twice at the next level. (3) Dolomite was third in the Demoiselle (G3) in 2023, second in a NY-bred stakes race last year, and second twice at this level. (5) Ariana Rye was a front-end winner of the first-level allowance last month.

Best bets: Ballerina d’Oro (9^th); Quint’s Brew (10^th). Best value: Bramito (2^nd); Active Duty (6^th).

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 covers races 6-8 and includes the Distaff (G3) à 3, 4 with 1, 4 with 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 = $24.

No.	Name	Letter last race	Today's Race	Comments
(5)	Nine N Four	A on 3/22	3	Had lots of trouble and managed to get third.
(3)	Active Duty	D on 3/7	6	Got bet down and finished fourth.
(6)	Crimson Light	A on 1/7/24	8	Rallied from 23 lengths back to win his only start.