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 worse
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.

1^st race [Md Sp Wt, 1 ¼ mi TURF] – (6) Fancy n’ Flight (A) reared up and then jumped at the break and lost all chance in what was her third career start and the first one of 2026. (7) Stand the Rain was third and then second in her last two starts of the year. (1) Mary Lois has proven to be a consistent type with four top three finishes in her five races. Prat stays on board. (8) Sister Jean moved from dirt to turf and showed a significant improvement. She faced traffic in the stretch last time and missed by less than a length.

2^nd race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 7F] – (12) Davidson (A) got far behind in her first start at Saratoga last month, made a late run for third, but had to check off heels for a trainer that rarely wins with debut runners. (7) Under the Moon was the 5-2 favorite in her debut, pressed the pace, and finished second. She was taken off in the equine ambulance but was back in training after a standard interval. (11) Frosty Blaze raced six-wide 16 days ago to finish third at Saratoga in a field of 10. (3) Luck Penny flashed early speed and then faded after getting bumped hard turning for home in her first start.

3^rd race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6 ½ F] – (9) Fiora is a $625,000 Saratoga yearling with an extensive work tab for a trainer who is excellent with first-time starters. (3) Melodies was 5-1 for her first start at Monmouth Park in a turf sprint and finished second for the trainer of this year’s Haskell winner. (7) Blazing Beauty shows several turf works at Saratoga for a trainer that wins with young horses and knows how to prep them for the turf. (12) Inflect was a $475,000 yearling for the team of Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables.

4^th race [OC 80k/N2X, 1 ¼ mi TURF] – (13) Asbury Park will have to draw into the field as the first waiting on the Also Eligible list. Last year he won the Jockey Club Derby Invitational (G2) and three weeks ago made his first start of the year rallying fast to miss by a half-length. (8) Early Adopter faced strong competition as a 2 and 3-year-old and was a promising third in his only start of the year. (10) A Bourbon for Toby was second in a Grade 3 at Laurel Park in May and was second ahead of the second-choice horse. (9) Rothschild was a front-end winner in an allowance last time when he got loose on the lead and again gets in a field void of early speed.

5^th race [Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), 1 ¼ mi] – (7) Forever Young returns to America for the fourth time as the all-time leading money earner in North America. He towers over this field in every statistical category. (4) Phileas Fogg is 1 of 2 speedy horses in this field. When he can control a race on the front-end he is at his best. (3) Chunk of Gold is the other speed horse and he has seven top three finishes in a row. (2) Stars and Stripes is 1 of 2 horses trained by Bill Mott in the JCGC. Mott won this race four times.

6^th race [NY, OC 55k/N2X, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (5) A Little At First had the lead and missed by a neck in a NY Stallion Series stakes at Saratoga last month. (3) Conman was a winner of an open company $50,000 claimer for the waiver in his 2026 debut at Saratoga in August. He was claimed for $45,000 in November. (4) Jaxer won a NY-bred stakes race in November for Graham Motion and was third behind the top choice in his only start of the year. (8) Inspeightofcharlie won the first-level state-bred allowance and then just missed when moving up a notch.

7^th race [Md Sp Wt, 1 mi] – (11) Card Man finished third at 7-2 for Chad Brown in his first start after pressing the pace. (6) Cybersteel was basically second the whole race in his first career start at Saratoga last month. (10) Bletchley was $1.55 million yearling purchase for Coolmore who has been training at Belmont Park since July for his debut. (7) Backlash was a $900,000 yearling purchase who was fifth in his debut at Saratoga in July at 5-1 and should move forward with the racing experience.

8^th race [Alw 55000s, 6 ½ F] – (1) Art Fair was claimed three times from his last four starts and won twice. Last time in a starter allowance he set the pace and finished third going longer. (2) Math Tutor won a pair of open company claimers in his last two races and was taken for $30,000 last month at Saratoga. (6) Momentum Files has two front-end victories in his last three tries including three weeks ago for a $55,000 tag. (9) Seeker’s Hope was claimed twice in three races with two wins including last time by 10 lengths for $20,000.

9^th race [NY, Alw 157500, 7F TURF] – (1) Tuthilltown should appreciate the added distance as a late runner who was closing fast in her last two races. (8) Scorch missed by a neck in a similar spot at Saratoga after a stretch duel. (7) Long Legged Queen has been off since April when she finished third behind a pair of next-time-out winners but was disqualified to fifth. (6) Maria Callas raced twice this year at this level and had a third-place finish.

Best bets: Forever Young (5^th); Card Man (7^th). Best value: Fancy n’ Flight (1^st); Art Fair (8^th).

No.	Name	Letter/ last race	Today's Race	Comments
(6)	Fancy n’ Flight	A on 8/1	1	She lost all chance after a troubled start in her 2026 debut.
(12)	Davidson	A on 8/12	2	She had to check during a late run in her first career race.