2023 Sham Stakes morning-line odds, picks: Racing reporter offers best bets for Sunday's Kentucky Derby prep race

Trainer Bob Baffert can extend his record number of wins in the Sham Stakes when he saddles four horses in the 2023 Sham Stakes on Sunday at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. The 69-year-old Baffert has won the Sham eight times. He will attempt to win No. 9 with four colts, led by National Treasure, who has been installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the Sham Stakes odds. Speed Boat Beach, who also is trained by Baffert, and Spun Intended, who is trained by Mark Glatt, are the co-second choices, at 5-2. Jeff Mullins' Packs a Wahlop (6-1) and Baffert's Newgate (6-1) and Reincarnate (8-1) round out the six-horse Sham Stakes field. Post time is 6:30 p.m. ET. 

With six lightly raced 3-year-olds set to enter the starting gate on Sunday, you'll want to see what astute racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2023 Sham Stakes picks.

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.

Yu also has tremendous handicapping chops. In the 2011 Kentucky Derby, she correctly tabbed Animal Kingdom to win at a hefty 21-1. In the 2017 Breeders' Cup, she nailed 11-1 long shot Wuheida to win the Filly and Mare Turf. Last year, in a wide-open Kentucky Derby, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first, as the winner at 12-1. In last year's Breeders' Cup Classic, she hit the Knicks Go-Medina Spirit exacta for $260.80. And in Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager this year, she suggested a play on All Other 3-Year-Olds, which cashed at a whopping 18-1 when Rich Strike won the Derby. 

Since joining SportsLine in November 2021, her picks have cashed in the 2021 and '22 Breeders' Cup Classics, Kentucky Oaks, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, among other races.

And in last year's Sham Stakes, she nailed the exacta for $156. Anyone who has followed her is way up.

Now, Yu has handicapped the 2023 Sham Stakes field, given her horse-by-horse analysis, made her picks and constructed her wagers.

One surprise: Yu is completely tossing Speed Boat Beach, even though he is one of the major contenders, listed at 5-2 on the morning line, behind only National Treasure. "This horse is playable but hard to love at a short price with some question marks," Yu told SportsLine. She is not including Speed Boat Beach in any of her wagers.

Moreover, Yu's top choice is a horse who was "one-paced" in his last start. She also is high on a horse who looks "fit, confident and fast." She is including these horses in her 2023 Sham Stakes bets, and so should you. You ABSOLUTELY need to see her picks before locking in any of your own.

So who wins the 2023 Sham Stakes? And which fit, confident and fast horse is a MUST-BACK? ... Join SportsLine right now to get Michelle Yu's 2023 Sham Stakes horse-by-horse analysis and picks, all from the insider who hit the exacta for $156 in this race last year!