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 [NY, Md Sp Wt, 1 mi] – (6) Van Vollenhoven moved from turf to dirt, pressed the pace, and finished second at 3-1. (3) Leo’s Reward came back from a five month layoff and finished third on a sloppy track in a race that was just one week ago. Blinkers go on. (1) D C Boy’s came back from a four month layoff and finished third behind the top choice. (2) Vitalize gets blinkers on in what will be his seventh start.

4^th race [OC50k/SAL50k, 6 ½ F] – (1) Lottie Margaret (C) made her debut in November at 9-2 and rallied from last to finish third after getting bet down from 6-1 to 9-2. (6) Pretty Magical made a big improvement in her third start finishing second and jumping up 20 points in her speed figures. First time Lasix for the now 3-year-old. (3) Gabby’s Legacy moved from turf to dirt in her second start and finished fourth. She also gets Lasix. (4) Lady Wisdom is the only horse in the field to have tried the mile distance.

5^th race [Md 20000, 7F] – (3) Wajda drops down to this lowest maiden claiming level after a pair of fourth-place finishes. (2) Limits of Power returned from a two-year layoff, moved to the barn of Todd Pletcher, dropped down to this level from a maiden special weight, and ran second. (6) Scottish Storm was claimed for $20,000 from his debut at Keeneland by Linda Rice. (1A) First Trumpet made a huge move forward when he dropped down to this level and finished second.

6^th race [OC25k/SAL20K, 7F] – (2) Smile Mon is in the best form of his career in his last three starts which were at Aqueduct. He won twice and was second going a mile each time. (9) Giroovin won for $16,000 two races back and then was third for $40,000. (8) Commerce Comet won for a $32,000 tag in November. (1) President Z moves from Kentucky where he was facing tougher competition and shows a past victory at the Big A.

Best bets: Lottie Margaret (4^th); Smile Mon (6^th). Best value: Van Vollenhoven (1^st); Wajda (5^th).