2024 Southwest Stakes morning line odds, picks: Horse racing writer has best bets for Saturday's Kentucky Derby prep race

The road to the 2024 Kentucky Derby rolls through Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., on Saturday when the starting gate opens in the 2024 Southwest Stakes. The Michael Stidham-trained Maycocks Bay, the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the 2024 Southwest Stakes odds, scratched on Saturday morning due to a fever. The Bob Baffert-trained Wynstock is 4-1 in the Southwest Stakes field. Carbone (9-2) rounds out the top three choices in the odds. Post time is 5:50 p.m. ET.

With an accomplished field set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what SportsLine writer Gene Menez has to say before making any Southwest Stakes 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, 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.

In a span of seven races last year, he cashed the winner of the Lecomte Stakes, the exacta in the Southwest Stakes ($468), the winner of the Holy Bull Stakes, the winner of the Sam F. Davis Stakes, and the trifecta in the Jenny Wiley Stakes. In May, he nailed National Treasure's win in the Preakness.

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

One surprise: Menez is completely tossing Wynstock, even though he is the 4-1 second choice on the morning line. But Menez is high on the chances of Awesome Road, who is an 8-1 longshot. "[Trainer Brad] Cox has cross-entered Awesome Road at Turfway Park on Saturday but has decided to run in the Southwest Stakes, which suggests to me that he likes what he has been seeing from Awesome Road," Menez told SportsLine. He is including Awesome Road prominently in his wagers.

Moreover, Menez's top pick is a longshot who "could very well be the biggest beneficiary" on Saturday. He also is high on a double-digit longshot who "should thrive with the added distance." He is including these horses in his wagers, and so should you. You NEED to see which horses they are before making any Southwest Stakes picks of your own.

So what longshot wins the Southwest Stakes. What double-digit longshot is a must-back? And how has Menez constructed his wagers? ... Join SportsLine now to get Southwest Stakes picks and wagers, all from the expert who hit the exacta in last year's Southwest Stakes for $468!