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 [Md 40000, 6F] – (2) Royal Eleve was sent off as the 8-5 favorite in his debut at Laurel Park last month, was rank, got roughed up, and stopped in a maiden special weight. Blinkers come off and Manny Franco gets on. (9) Well Suited is a Godolphin home-bred that has raced twice for Bill Mott and comes back as a new gelding. (8) Thunder Princess will move from turf to dirt after four tries in maiden special weights. (7) Vamonos Vamonos will drop into a claimer after three starts where he finished fourth or fifth.

3^rd race [Alw 16000s, 1 mi] – (6) High Tide (A) moved from turf to dirt last time in a race where he had to wait in traffic on the inside, finished second from seventh once he got clear, and got claimed. (7) Winnin’onweekends finished first or second in his last five starts including a first-level allowance at Aqueduct. (8) Smile Mon was an open length winner of his two most recent races for a trainer whose barn has gotten hot again. (2) Skylander has six top three finishes in a row and was claimed four times in that sequence with a win for a $32,000 tag last month.

7^th race [Alw 92000 N1X, 6F TURF] – (3) Latest Edition (C) was bet down from 6-1 to 7-2 when he moved to the dirt, ran second after dropping from second-level NY-bred allowances, and got claimed just a week ago. (7) Golden Rocket was claimed for $45,000 from a win in a second-level NY-bred allowance and then was fourth on the dirt in state-bred stakes. (8) Striker Has Dial tried the turf for the first time last month and was fourth in a race like this. He was second in a stakes race at Saratoga this summer. (9) Marco T was second in his last two starts in those NY-bred allowances.

8^th race [Clm 10000, 7F] – (7) Nolo Contesto (A) lost all chance last time two weeks ago when he broke slowly and got checked back to last for a horse that does best as a pace presser. (6) Winter’s Ghost drops to his lowest level after he finished second for a $16,000 tag. (10) Classic Mark had the lead, finished second going seven furlongs behind a horse that came back to win, and got claimed. (4) Prince James has two wins at this level since March at Aqueduct.

Best bets: Royal Eleve (1^st); Nolo Contesto (8^th). Best value: High Tide (3^rd); Latest Edition (7^th).