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, 5 ½ TURF] – (4) River of Deceit (A) was second in his debut last month at 3-1 but was well clear of the rest of the field. (1) Wood Island was a $250,000 2-year-old purchase in May who will debut for hot Saratoga connections of George Weaver and Irad Ortiz Jr. (3) Jackpot Jackie will make his first start for Todd Pletcher who is winning races on the turf at the Spa. (2) Without Hesitation was a $2.3 million purchase in April who sold for $140,000 as a yearling and is by a $25,000 first-year stallion.

2^nd race [NY, Md 35000, 5 ½ F] – (3) Cream Puff had a sharp three-furlong blowout work for a low-profile trainer who had a longshot first-timer win a maiden claimer. (8) Risky Mission is a debut runner for Linda Rice. (6) Beltandsuspenders gets Irad for this Amelia Green first-time starter. (5) Solo Belle is another juvenile for Green who has been training at Belmont Park.

6^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6F] – (6) Yestahal was a $1.1 million purchase in the Ocala March sale who was very quickly working for Brad Cox in Florida and now at Saratoga. Cox has had his debut runners ready to roll first time out. (7) Mindfield was a $700,000 purchase in April who sold for $20,000 as a weanling and then $55,000 as a yearling. He will debut for Mark Casse who touted him as one to watch at Saratoga. (1) Freedom Charge was third at Aqueduct in his only start in June. (2) Calling Mr. Mo starts his career for a trainer who does well with first-time starters.

9^th race [Amsterdam (G2), 5 ½ TURF] – (7) Obliteration is the only horse in the field with triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures which happened in his last two starts. His career record shows top three finishes in 9 out of 10 races. The only miss was when he was fourth in the 2025 Breeders’ Cup. (1) American Man has two wins and two seconds in his four starts including the Maxfield (G2) at Churchill last time. (3) Solitude Dude will need a pass for his poor performance in the Woody Stephens (G1) in June, but prior races produced 4 wins from 5 starts with stakes. He was third on the Derby trail in the Florida Derby (G1). (4) Gilded Bandit has excellent speed figures from his maiden and an allowance victories and was fourth behind Obliteration in the Woody.

Best bets: River of Deceit (1^st); Obliteration (9^th). Best value: Cream Puff (2^nd); Yestahal (6^th).