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 [Clm 20000, 6 ½ F] – (5) Despo’s Dream (B) chased inside on a dead rail at 4-1 and now makes the right drop in class. (4) Proud Foot (B) broke last, had to steady early, finished second well clear of the rest, and got claimed. (3) Irish Jackson has been off since July when she was third in a NY-bred allowance and second for a $12,500 tag. (2) A Maize Zing Dotie returns from a May layoff and drops in for a tag for the first time with nine past victories.

2^nd race [Alw 50000s, 1 mi] – (2) House United (C) was bet down from 3-1 to 8-5 and used a late run to finish second behind a horse that also won his next start. (4) Carvellian Quest was a winner for $20,000 followed by a second in a starter allowance. (3) Oil Capital was a winner of a $75,000 maiden claimer with a front-end effort following a short layoff. (1) Rock the Weekend has been an allowance horse competing against NY-breds.

6^th race [NY, Md 40000, 1 mi] – (8) Queen Sally drops out of a pair of fourth-place finishes in NY-bred maiden special weights. (2) Imnobodysfool was third in her debut against open company in a $75,000 maiden claimer and gets blinkers on. (1) Icy Legs had her best finish when second in a $25,000 maiden claimer. (7) Wayward Queen was third at this level in January after setting the pace.

8^th race [Md 20000, 1 mi] – (1) Beck’s Dreamer (B) stumbled badly, got far behind, was eased, and was claimed again. (5) Thorsness has a pair of third-place finishes at this level early in the winter. (4) Inonit had a few races that are good enough to win in this field. (2) Noguchi has a pair of seconds from his last three starts.

Best bets: Despo’s Dream (1^st); Queen Sally (6^th). Best Value: House United (2^nd); Beck’s Dreamer (8^th).