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.

6^th race [Stymie, 1 mi] – (4) Winnin’onweekends (A/C) was a winner of a low level starter allowance at Aqueduct in January by more than 14 lengths with a front-end effort and was bet down from 8-1 to 5-1. (5) Bank Frenzy won his last two starts in a second-level allowance and then a NY-bred stake race in December. (3) Yo Daddy won 3 of his last 4 starts racing from off the pace moving through the allowance conditions for Linda Rice. (1) Concealed Carry was a stakes winner at Parx Racing in October for a trainer who has done well shipping to New York.

7^th race [Busher, 1 mi] – (4) Volleyballprincess won the Ruthless last month by 10 lengths and ships from Parx once again. (3) Drexel Hill changed to the barn of Whit Beckman after starting her career at Woodbine. She raced twice at Fair Grounds including a third in the Silverbulletday. Blinkers come off after a try with them. (9) Sharp Smile broke her maiden in her third try and then was third in the Busanda. (5) Amarth will make her 2025 debut after breaking her maiden and winning an allowance in Kentucky. In the Untapable, she had to steady in the stretch.

8^th race [Gotham (G3), 1 mi] – (8) McAfee made his first two starts at Churchill Downs and was a debut winner in November. He returned three weeks later to run second by a neck in a starter allowance. McAfee is a half-brother of last year’s Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna. (9) Garamond won the only start of his career for Juddmonte and Chad Brown in a maiden at Tampa Bay Downs as a 4-5 favorite. He finds a field that gives him a chance to be successful as he steps onto the Derby trail. (10) My Mitole showed significant improvement in his four starts with victories in one-turn miles in his last two starts at Aqueduct. (5) Sand Devil is one of two undefeated and stakes-winning NY-breds in this field. He won a state-bred allowance going a mile by more than 12 lengths.

10^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6F] – (1) Vekinda was second in all five of his starts and may have found the right field to get that maiden victory. (6) Merica’s Back was fourth in his debut at 7-1 at Aqueduct three weeks ago. (3) Roofer has shown early speed in his last two races. (9) Share the Ludt will make his first start of the year. He was second in the New York Breeders Futurity and then in a maiden at Gulfstream Park. He will run with first-time Lasix.

Best bets: Volleyballprincess (7^th); Vekinda (10^th). Best Value:  Winnin’onweekends (6^th); McAfee (8^th).

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 is all-stakes and covers races 6-8 which includes the Stymie, Busher, and Gotham  à 1, 3, 4, 5 with 3, 4, 9 with 8, 9, 10 = $36.