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 [Alw 20000s, 1 1/8 mi] – (4) Colonial Rose was a winner at this level last month at Churchill Downs after overcoming some early trouble. Regular rider Jose Ortiz stays on board. (5) Our Liberty Belle has hit the board in her last three starts at distances ranging from six furlongs to a mile and is a past two-turn winner. (1) Whistler’s Style and (1A) Conquito make a Linda Rice entry where both are win contenders. (6) Pistol Liz Ablazen was claimed from a victory for $32,000 in April and gets needed class relief here.

6^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 7F] – (4) Inonit (D) was bet down from 5-1 to be the 5-2 favorite and finished fourth in his second start of the year. He comes back from an April layoff with first-time Lasix. (2) Keepinitreal finished in the top three in all three of his starts including his 2025 debut in June. (5) Long Pour sold for $85,000 from a $5,000 stallion. (6) Twohonestmischief has four third-place finishes in a row in 2025.

9^th race [OC 50k/N1X, 1 mi] – (1) Reddington (B) races for the $50,000 claiming option and drops down from three starts in much tougher allowances where he did win in April. (6) Warrior Richard was first and second in his last two races in a $50,000 claimer and an allowance at Churchill Downs and Kentucky horses are doing well at this meeting. (2) Cut the Cord set the pace and finished second by a neck in the second-level NY-bred allowance last month. Blinkers go on. (5) Gamblers Tail ships up from Churchill also with a third and a pair of wins in his last four races.

10^th race [Md 100000, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (7) Blast Furnace (C) was second by a nose after a battle down the stretch in an identical spot at Aqueduct last month when he was bet down from 12-1 to 7-1. (1) Ennis Town was second and third in his only two starts on the grass which were in Maryland since the beginning of June. He is listed as a new gelding. (5) Atomic Age has been off since October when he was second at Aqueduct for Chad Brown. (11) Antietam  also comes back from a prolonged winter layoff, moves from dirt to turf, and goes in for a tag for the first time.

Best bets: Colonial Rose (1^st); Reddington (9^th). Best value: Inonit (6^th); Blast Furnace (10^th).