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.

3^rd race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6 ½ F] – (6) Guilty moved from turf to dirt for his second start, set the pace, missed by a neck, and changes to the barn of Bruce Levine now. (4) Merica’s Back was second in his last three starts and comes back from an August layoff. (1) Kaz Oil Changer tried the turf last month after three second-place finishes on the main track at Aqueduct and Saratoga. (7) Poppy’s Ticket was third in his debut which was in May at 2-1.

5^th race [NY, Notebook, 1 mi TURF] – (8) Lawyer Mason (A) lacked room at the top of the stretch and rallied for third once clear. (1) Spirit of New York won his first start which was at Saratoga, tried the open company Skidmore, and then won the Bongard for state-breds at Aqueduct in September.  (5) Caroline St. Beat was a debut at Saratoga as the 2-1 favorite in an eight-horse field. (6) Jaxer was a maiden winner in her third try which was last month at the Big A.

6^th race [NY, Md 50000, 6 ½ F] – (8) Kid Rich was fifth in his only race in a maiden special weight at 5-1 and changes to the barn of Linda Rice. (2) Red Fern was third at 4-1 in a similar spot last month. (11) Rumblyoungmanrumbl changes to the Sacco barn and drops in for a tag for the first time. (9) Hurricane Kaz was fifth in a pair of maiden special weights at Aqueduct going seven furlongs.

7^th race [Clm 17500 N3L, 6 ½ F] – (8) Ride Up (C) was bet down from 8-1 to 5-1 and finished third after setting the pace. (3) Tarpaulin was an eight-length winner of the N2L claimer in August and then tried twice against tougher competition. (5) Brave Buck won at the N2L level in July as a voided claim and came back in October to run a close fourth in a spot similar to this one. (1) Funny Uncle gets the blinkers off and cuts back to sprinting.

Best bets: Guilty (3^rd); Kid Rich (6^th). Best value: Lawyer Mason (5^th); Ride Up (7^th).