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.

5^th race [Alw 16000s, 1 mi] – (10) J J’s Ranger was claimed from an open-length victory for $10,000 and then stepped up to set the pace and finish third in a starter allowance. (5) Lotsa Trouble was a winner for a $25,000 tag seven days ago. (1) Life and Light returns from a January layoff when he won for $16,000. (9) Flat On won his second race in a row and was claimed for $10,000 away from Linda Rice.

6^th race [Alw 20000s, 6F] – (6) Despo’s Dream (B) chased on the inside when the rail was dead at 4-1 in a first-level allowance back in January. (2) Bam’s Bliss Kiss now has won four races in a row and was claimed for $45,000 two starts ago. (4) Majestic Return was a winner of a $12,000 starter allowance three weeks ago. (5) Brzina comes back from a November Layoff where he had a front-end win for $20,000 and then a pair of seconds for $30 and 40K.

7^th race [Alw 12500s, 6F] – (5) Play won 5 out of his last 8 starts with a win nine days ago at Aqueduct for a $30,000 tag. (3) Lucky Dude won three races in a row in $10,000 starter allowances. And there is plenty of speed to set up his late run. (10) Shoot the Nickel won a $50,000 starter allowance last month at the Big A. (4) Total Sensation ships up from Charles Town with 4 wins from his last 5 starts.

9^th race [Alw 12500s, 7F] – (6) Mursal (C) was bet down from 7-2 to be the 6-5 favorite when she set the pace and finished third going a mile in a $16,000 starter allowance last month. (1) Miss Lao (A) pressed the pace eight days ago, finished third, and was claimed back for $10,000. (5) Golden Eib Micrphn won 4 out of his 5 most recent races for Jamie Ness with the last two in $10,000 starter allowances at Parx and Laurel. (10) Pop Rox is yet another winner of 4 out of 5 starts but his were at Gulfstream and the last one was in a $12,000 starter allowance. He was a claim back in December.

Best bets:  J J’s Ranger (5^th); Mursal (9^th). Best Value: Despo’s Dream (6^th); Play (7^th).

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 (covers races 5-7) 5, 10 with 2, 4, 6 with 3, 4, 5, 10 = $24.