PROVIDING DEMOTION HINTS WITH TRACK ACCESS REQUESTS TO CAUSE A STORAGE CONTROLLER TO MANAGE THE TRACKS USING A TRANSIENT CACHE LIST AND PROLONGED CACHE LIST

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for providing demotion hints with track access requests. A track access request is generated for a track in the storage system. A determination is made whether the track access request is for a designated utility. The track access request is submitted with a demotion hint to cause the track to be indicated on a transient cache list in response to determining that the track access request is for the designated utility. The track access request is submitted without a demotion hint in response to determining that the track access request is not for the designated utility to cause the track to be indicated on a prolonged cache list. The demotion of tracks is first attempted from the transient cache list before demoting tracks from the prolonged cache list.