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 1/16 mi TURF] – (6) Miss Twitter (A) got stymied on the inside, lost five lengths, and ran gamely once clear for third. (1) On Time Delivery rallied from behind in her January debut to finish a close third after getting blocked at the eighth pole. (5) Majestic Moonlight was second in her last two races which were at Saratoga. (4) Candidly will make her debut for Chad Brown who is having a strong fall meeting at Belmont.

3^rd race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6F] – (6) Valentine Crusader changes barns as he makes his first start of 2026 and comes back with Lasix and as a new gelding. Last year he was second by a nose twice at Saratoga. (4) Tap Rules was fourth in his debut in August at 7-1.  (2) Karsten went on the turf in his first two starts then went to the main track where he set the pace and ended up third. (5) Hurricane Kaz finished in the top three five times and comes back after a June layoff. 

5^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6F TURF] – (1) Cornichiwa sold for $500,000 in March at Ocala and is by a $15,000 stallion Corniche. (Love the name. Play on Konnichiwa which is Japanese for “hello”.) She debuts for Chad Brown and Manny Franco. (2) Rockabye raced three times at Saratoga this summer and was second twice while pressing the pace. (7) Zomoroda is also by Corniche and sold for $335,000 in April. (5) Kershaw Folly makes her first start for a trainer who has excellent stats with debut runners.

9^th race [Md 30000, 7 ½ F TURF] – (6) Turbo Launch (B) steadied early, went wide, passed tired horses, and drops to a level closer to where he was claimed two races back. (2) Perretti was third in his first start in more than a year while dropping in for a tag for the first time and goes down even more in here. (3) Notion in Motion shifts to a New York barn after racing on the Maryland circuit where he hit the board in his last three races. (10) Oligarch will drop down with a couple of races showing that could win against this field.

Best bets: Miss Twitter (1^st); Valentine Crusader (3^rd). Best value: Cornichiwa (5^th); Turbo Launch (9^th).