Horse racing’s Triple Crown kicks off on Saturday when the starting gate opens for the 2025 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Santa Anita Derby winner Journalism is the favorite in the 2025 Kentucky Derby odds at 3-1 and is riding a four-race winning streak. Fountain of Youth Stakes champion Sovereignty (5-1), Arkansas Derby sensation Sandman (6-1), Wood Memorial speedball Rodriguez (12-1) and Blue Grass Stakes hero Burnham Square (12-1) round out the top five favorites among the 20 Kentucky Derby horses. Post time for the $5 million race is 6:57 p.m. ET.
With the Kentucky Derby’s 20-horse rodeo serving as the most difficult handicapping puzzle every year, you NEED to see what Santa Anita-based racing reporter and insider Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, considering her track record calling WINNERS of this race.
Few people in racing are as well-connected as Yu. An on-air host and reporter who has provided racing analysis for TVG, HRTV and the Breeders’ Cup, Yu has spent a lifetime in racing. Prior to her television career, she worked for trainers Steve Asmussen and Ron Moquett. She also is married to Santa Anita-based trainer Ryan Hanson.
In a wide-open Kentucky Derby in 2021, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first, as the winner at 12-1. In Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager three years ago, she suggested a play on All Other 3-Year-Olds, which cashed at a whopping 18-1 when Rich Strike won.
For the 2025 Kentucky Derby, Yu has made her picks and constructed her bets. One surprise: She is completely fading Sandman, even though he won the Arkansas Derby and is one of the top favorites. “His final quarter in the Arkansas Derby was pedestrian,” Yu told SportsLine. Yu will not be using Sandman in any of her wagers.
Moreover, Yu is high on a double-digit longshot who has been getting over the Churchill Downs surface “perfectly” this week. She is including this horse in her 2025 Kentucky Derby bets, and so should you. You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see her picks before locking in any of your own.
