The Excelsior for older horses is the Aqueduct feature on Saturday

By NY Hot List staff | Thursday, March 30, 2023

The $125,000 Excelsior for horses from the male handicap division is the feature on the first Saturday of the Spring meeting at Aqueduct Racetrack. Law Professor is the 7-5 morning line favorite in the field of seven that will go 1 1/8 miles on the main track.

Law Professor, who is trained by Rob Atras, is a versatile 5-year-old with stakes wins on both turf and dirt. He can press the pace or close from a stalking position. Last seen at the Big A he won the Queens County by more than seven lengths. Manny Franco gets back on board the son of Constitution having ridden him to that stakes victory in January.

“He’s pretty handy. He can be close to the pace or sit just off of it,” Atras said. “I’d like him to get a clean break and let Manny get him into a rhythm. Manny knows the horse well.”

Here are the Hot List picks for the Excelsior:

The $125,000 Excelsior, Aqueduct, Saturday, Race 8.

(2) Law Professor was third in a very strong running of the Razorback (G3) in February following a victory in the Queens County at the Big A. Last year he was second in the Woodward (G1) and fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He could be on the lead in a slow-paced race. (4) Miles D was second in the Stymie at Aqueduct and looks like he may be able to put a few races together. He is a past stakes winner at Aqueduct for Chad Brown. (1) Curlin’s Wisdom has nine recent races where he finished first or second with one poor performance on a sloppy track that can be ignored. He is stakes placed against NY-breds as he makes his first appearance in a stake against open company. (6) Forewarned won a stakes race at Parx Racing last time. The 8-year-old won the Excelsior last year and the Queens County in 2021 and will ship up from Bensalem, PA, once again.

The rest of the NY Hot List picks and the Special Saturday Pick 3 are available free of charge at this website.