Title: "2025 Kentucky Derby: Hall-of-Fame Trainers and Expert Predictions for the Run for the Roses"
The 2025 Kentucky Derby post positions were unveiled over the weekend, and the field for the 151st Run for the Roses is loaded with 2025 Kentucky Derby horses trained by Hall-of-Famers. Bob Baffert, Mark Casse, Steve Asmussen, Todd Pletcher, Bill Mott, and D. Wayne Lukas are all expected to have at least one horse in the 2025 Kentucky Derby lineup at Churchill Downs on Saturday. Brad Cox isn’t in the Hall of Fame, but he is well on his way with two Eclipse Awards for outstanding trainer, wins in the 2021 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and nine Breeders’ Cup wins in the decade since his first stakes win. Cox has one entry this year, Final Gambit, who is 30-1 in the 2025 Kentucky Derby odds. Post time is 6:57 p.m. ET.
Meanwhile, Journalism, trained by 2021 Preakness Stakes-winning trainer Michael McCarthy, is the 3-1 favorite after impressing with graded-stakes wins in the Los Alamitos Futurity, San Felipe Stakes, and Santa Anita Derby. Before making any 2025 Kentucky Derby picks, you’ll want to see what SportsLine horse racing expert Gene Menez has to say before making any 2025 Kentucky Derby picks or horse racing predictions.
A former reporter and editor at Sports Illustrated, Menez covered an array of sports, including horse racing, for the magazine and its website for almost 14 years. Between 2010 and 2012, he served as SI’s handicapper for the Triple Crown races and correctly predicted Super Saver to win the Kentucky Derby in 2010.
In 2015, Menez accurately gave out the Kentucky Derby superfecta, which paid $1,268.20 for $2. In 2017, he tweeted out his Kentucky Derby picks, including Always Dreaming to win, and hit the Pick 4, which paid almost $6,900 on a $1 bet.
In May of last year, Menez nailed 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby. In November, he crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders’ Cup Saturday for a $5,303 jackpot. This year, he hit the winner and exacta in the Holy Bull Stakes and the winner, trifecta, and superfecta in the Florida Derby.
For the Run for the Roses, Menez has handicapped the 2025 Kentucky Derby field, made his picks, and constructed his best bets.
Top 2025 Kentucky Derby predictions
One of Menez’ surprising 2025 Kentucky Derby picks: He is fading Sandman (6-1), even though he won the Arkansas Derby and is one of the top 2025 Kentucky Derby favorites. Sire Tapit is one of the most successful breeders in the history of North American horse racing, and his progeny have had a particular affinity for the Belmont Stakes, with four of his offspring winning the final leg of the Triple Crown. However, he has never produced a Kentucky Derby winner.
Sandman’s connections are also winless in the Kentucky Derby, with trainer Mark Casse failing to hit the board in 10 previous tries and jockey Jose Ortiz going 0-for-9 on his Kentucky Derby mounts. Despite a $1.2 million purchase price before the start of his two-year-old season, he didn’t manage a win in his first four starts in stakes races. Then, he benefited from a blistering early pace at Oaklawn Park that eventually fell apart to storm to a come-from-behind win at the Arkansas Derby. Menez doesn’t think he can replicate that ride against a better Kentucky Derby field.
Menez thinks a late charge to a third-place finish is the best-case scenario for Sandman, making him a horse to fade in the Kentucky Derby 2025.
How to make 2025 Kentucky Derby bets, picks
Menez’ top pick is a horse who "is bred to only get better with the added distance." He’s also high on a double-digit longshot who owns "the most awesome turn of foot of any of the Kentucky Derby hopefuls."
Which horse wins the Kentucky Derby 2025, and which double-digit longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2025 Kentucky Derby odds below.
