2023 Risen Star Stakes morning-line odds, picks: Horse racing writer has best bets for Saturday's Kentucky Derby prep race

The road to the 2023 Kentucky Derby gets more serious on Saturday when 14 3-year-olds leave the starting gate in the 2023 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. The Risen Star is the first Derby prep race that will award 50 points to the winner and is the most important prep race for the Fair Grounds' signature race of the year, the Louisiana Derby, which will be run on March 25. The Brad Cox-trained Victory Formation is the lukewarm 3-1 morning-line favorite in the Risen Star Stakes odds. Six other horses are 8-1 or shorter. Post time is 7:14 p.m. ET.

With 14 lightly raced 3-year-olds set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what SportsLine writer Gene Menez has to say before making any Risen Star Stakes picks.

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, while writing for Sports on Earth, Menez accurately gave out the Kentucky Derby superfecta (American Pharoah, Firing Line, Dortmund and Frosted), which paid $1,268.20 for $2. Then 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.

On Dec. 26, Menez hit the Pick 5 at Santa Anita Park for $798.70. And in the last month he has cashed the winner of the Lecomte Stakes ($172.50), the exacta in the Southwest Stakes ($468), the winner of the Holy Bull Stakes ($180) and the winner of the Sam F. Davis Stakes ($228).

Now, Menez has handicapped the field for the Risen Star Stakes, made his picks and formulated his bets.

Menez is almost completely fading the 3-1 morning-line favorite, Victory Formation. "In winning the Smarty Jones, he set an uncontested lead," Menez told SportsLine. "He won't get that opportunity on Saturday with all of the speed horses in the gate." Menez is using the horse only sparingly in his wagers.

Instead, Menez's top pick is a double-digit longshot who "is bred to run all day." He also is high on another double-digit longshot who "should benefit from the expected pace and long stretch." He is including these horses in his wagers, and so should you. You NEED to see which horses they are before making any Risen Star Stakes picks of your own.

So who wins the Risen Star Stakes? What double-digit longshot is a must-back? And how has Menez constructed his wagers? ... Join SportsLine now to get Risen Star Stakes picks and wagers, all from the expert who has nailed four straight Kentucky Derby prep races!