Saturday, August 2, 2025 at Saratoga 

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.

4^th race [OC 75k/N2X, 5 ½ F TURF] – (8) Bergen (A) stumbled out of the gate and was probably best in that race but finished third. (1) Twisted Filigree returned from a winter layoff earlier in the month to win at this same condition by a nose with a front-end effort. (4) Clean the Air ships up from Kentucky after a second in a Keeneland allowance and then a win in a turf sprint in a second-level allowance like this one. (10) Final Verdict has a pair of thirds at this condition in 2025.

7^th race [OC 75k/N2X, 7F] – (11) Creditworthy (A) was a winner moving from turf to dirt in a very fast time by more than two lengths. (5) Dilger was third in the Carter (G2) at Aqueduct in April and then tried the Big Drama at Gulfstream Park. (9) Awesome Ruta moved from the Salvator mile (G3) to an allowance at Colonial Downs and was second by a nose. (10) Pentathlon was a first-level allowance last time out at the June Saratoga meeting.

8^th race [Fourstardave (G1), 1 mi TURF] – (10) Neat (A) checked and swerved to avoid a fallen horse and now had two bad trips in a row. (8) Deterministic won 4 out of his last 6 races and those were all in graded stakes. He has a chance to get another front-end victory. (1) Cugino is a late runner that could take advantage if the early pace goes too fast. Irad Ortiz stays on board. (3) Johannes ships from California with eight wins from 11 starts and must be respected.

11^th race [Whitney (G1), 1 1/8 mi] – (9) Fierceness loves Saratoga where he won the Travers (G1) and the Jim Dandy (G2) last year and won both of his starts at the nine-furlong distance. (5) Sierra Leonewon the Breeders’ Cup Classic and will meet the top pick for the fifth time with two wins to each. (10)Post Time raced 18 times and never finished worse than third. Last year he was third in the Whitney. (3) Highland Falls was an impressive victor of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) and would also benefit from a faster pace.

Best bets: Creditworthy (7^th); Fierceness (11^th). Best value: Bergen (4^th); Neat (8^th).

@NYHotList Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 covers races 7-9 and includes the Fourstardave (G1) and the Saratoga Derby (G1). à 5, 9, 10, 11 with 8, 10 with 5, 7 = $16.

No.	Name	Letter last race	Today's Race	Comments
(8)	Bergen	A on 6/28	4	Stumbled out of the gate and could only get third.
(11)	Creditworthy	A on 6/15	7	Moved from turf to dirt to be a fast winner.
(10)	Neat	A on 7/5	8	Checked and swerved to avoid a fallen horse.