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 [Moc 40000, 1 mi] – (4) Golden Symphony returns from a December layoff when he was claimed for $50,000 by Linda Rice after finishing second at Turfway Park well ahead of the rest of the field. (3) Vitalize drops out of a series of NY-bred maiden special weights with a second and a third in his last two races. (2) Dark Devil has four second-place finishes in maiden claimers from which he was claimed twice. (7) Forgone made one start in May at odds of 5-1 against NY-breds and gets blinkers on.

4^th race [Clm 10000, 6 ½ F] – (1) It Takes Heart (B) was claimed from his last three starts most recently for $15,000 when he had the lead, battled back, and was taken back by Linda Rice. She now drops back to $10,000 where last seen was a winner by more than three lengths. (7) Ghostly Girl (B) broke open the gate following a three month layoff. (8) Shezanarcticqueen was a winner last time for a $15,000 tag with a late rally in her first start for that same price. (2) Dashing Della drops down after four starts at the $16,000 level where she had a pair of thirds and a winner.

5^th race [OC32k/SAL20k, 6F] – (7) Cees Get Degrees was claimed for $25,000 two races back and came back to win for the new trainer at that same level and seems to be back in top form where in the past he won at much higher levels. (6) Motorcade changes to the barn of Bruce Levine and comes back from a June layoff as a new gelding. He finished first or second in his last five starts. (2) M B’s Munning also returns from a long layoff and is a past winner for a $50,000 tag. (1A) Cold as Hell was claimed three times in his last four starts and has early speed that got him a win and a second.

7^th race [Clm 50000, 1 mi] – (5) Skylander won three races in a row beginning with a $32,000 claimer from which he was taken. Last time he tried a second-level allowance. (6) Runnin’ Ray is moving up the ladder with two wins since getting claimed for $20,000. (8) Power Seeker comes back from a layoff since Saratoga and drops out of a series of higher-level allowances. Last time he was in for a tag he was claimed for $62,500. (1A) Gun It won an allowance in December and drops for a tag for the first time since the summer.

Best bets: Golden Symphony (1^st); It Takes Heart (4^th). Best value: Cees Get Degrees (5^th); Skylander (7^th).