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 [OC 100k/N1X, 6 ½ F] – (4) Ican finished behind Kentucky Derby contender Cyclone State when third in the Jerome and second in an allowance before that. (3) T Kraft broke his maiden in his sixth start but earned a race high speed figure. He ran against several Derby trail horses in his previous races. (5) Georgia Magic gets blinkers on and Lasix for the first time after winning as a firster. (1) Hawkstone broke his maiden on the turf, won an allowance at Penn National, and was fifth in a stakes race at Laurel Park.

4^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 7F] – (5) Leo’s Reward (B) stumbled and got bumped around at the break of his second start following a layoff and finished second. (8) Schlomo returns from a May layoff as a new gelding after essentially a pair of seconds in three starts at short odds. (7) Palace Boss also comes back from a May layoff with his best race being a second at Aqueduct. (4) Ferris Muler was second last time when he overcame a poor start.

5^th race [Clm 16000B, 1 mi] – (6) Active Duty has learned how to win with a $20,000 maiden claiming score followed by his career best performance in a $16,000 N2L condition. (3) Ice Road was third in his last two starts at this level. (2) Winter’s Ghost was second or third in his last four starts and most of them were in tougher open claimers. (9) Masterwork won the N2L condition two races ago in January.

8^th race [NY, Md 40000, 6 ½ F] – (5) Nine N Four (A) was away from the gate slowly after getting bumped, had to check, and rallied wide for second in his first start. (9) Run With Honor set the pace and finished second in his debut in November at this level and then moved up to $50,000. (8) Celtic Prince had a troubled debut race at 3-1 last month and gets blinkers and Lasix for the first time. (1A) Total Silence was second for $40,000 just missing by a nose and then tried a maiden special weight in his first start for Danny Gargan.

Best bets: Ican (1^st); Nine N Four (8^th). Best value: Leo’s Reward (4^th); Active Duty (5^th).