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 1/8 mi] – (3) Danzit returned from more than a year layoff to run second at Aqueduct in June. (2) Bon Vivant had a pair of second-place finishes at Gulfstream Park and blinkers come off after a one race experiment. (6) Absolute Honor set the pace and finished third on opening day at Saratoga. (4) Raghba has a series of similar efforts at this level and could get into the money.

2^nd race [Clm 30000 N3L, 7F] – (4) Confabulation won the N2L condition for a $40,000 tag and drops down after a few decent results against better. (1) Golden Symphony ran a career best speed figure when he won on the front-end for a $50,000 tag. (2) Tizmarkus was claimed for $50,000 at Churchill Downs from a more than five-length victory and then tried a couple of starter allowances. He shows up here as a new gelding. (6) Heavyweight Champs drops in for a tag for the first time and exits NY-bred races.

4^th race [OC50k/SAL50k, 7F] – (2) Ranger Battalion won a $100,000 claimer during the first week of the meeting after getting claimed from a $50,000 maiden victory. (1) Makes Sense won a maiden claimer by seven lengths and was taken for the $50k tag. (4) Bob’s Carrot was also a winner at the $50,000 level but he ships up from Churchill for Steve Asmussen. (3) Tactical Trackstar was claimed by Linda Rice for $20,000 from a maiden score.

5^th race [Clm 17500 N2L, 1 mi] – (3) Dark Vector changes barns, comes back from an eight-month layoff, and makes a huge drop in class. (2) True Connection broke his maiden for $20,000 in June at Aqueduct and then was third at this level at Saratoga. (7) Always Be Smart broke his maiden for a $75,000 tag in March and then tried allowances three times. (6) Gotta Guy moved from turf to dirt and finished second at this level at Saratoga after some early trouble in that race.

Best bets: Danzit (1^st): Confabulation (2^nd). Best value: Ranger Battalion (4^th); Dark Vector (5^th).