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.

3^rd race [NY, Rick Violette, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (5) Leon Blue (A) ran in an allowance after breaking his maiden, set the pace, turned back two challenges, and got beat at the wire by a nose. (6) Smooth Breeze returned to NY-bred racing to win the first-level allowance and then moved up the ladder to get second. (4) Outsource rallied from last to win the level one allowance at the Saratoga June meeting. (1) River of Time was second in a NY Stallion Series turf sprint last month.

5^th race [Md 20000, 6F] – (8) Fiddling Felix made his 2025 debut in a maiden special weight at Churchill Downs. (2) Aerate was claimed for $20,000 at Keeneland and then ran three times for a $50,000 tag. (3) Tactical Trackstar was seventh behind a return winner in a maiden special weight at Aqueduct in April. (4) Army Proud was second in a NY-bred maiden for a $30,000 tag last month.

8^th race [Alw 110000, 1 1/8 mi] – (3) Stars and Stripes (A) was an easy winner by more than 10 lengths in his second start where he jumped tire tracks nearing the finish line. (1) Waitlist finished in the top three in 4 out of his last 5 races. (2) Rocketeer had a series of races last summer at Churchill and Saratoga that would make him a win contender. (7) Lordship was a debut winner at Tampa for Chad Brown and then was fourth in the Long Branch at Monmouth Park.

9^th race [OC50k/SAL40k, 1 mi TURF] – (5) Life and Light (B) showed speed but faded in his return to the turf. (1) Brit’s Wit had the lead and finished third in a similar spot in May at Aqueduct. (10) Badge of War won twice at the Big A in the spring including a starter allowance and last month was third for a $50,000 tag. (7) Enlighten won twice at Gulfstream in the winter and has been racing in second-level allowances since then.

Best bets: Fiddling Felix (5^th); Stars and Stripes (8^th). Best value: Leon Blue (3rd); Life and Light (9^th).