2025 Churchill Downs Stakes odds, horses, field: Racing insider offers best bets, top picks for Saturday's race

Some of the country's top 3-year-old sprinters will square off when the starting gate opens in the 2025 Churchill Downs Stakes on Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Last year Seize the Grey won the Pat Day Mile two weeks before capturing the Preakness Stakes. Trainer Bob Baffert has the top two choices in the Churchill Downs Stakes odds: Madaket Road (2-1) and Gaming (3-1). Built (7-2) and Gate to Wire (6-1) round out the top four choices in the Churchill Downs Stakes field. Post time for the $600,000 race is 1:53 p.m. ET. 

With nine talented but relatively inexperienced 3-year-olds set to enter the starting gate Saturday, you NEED to see what Santa Anita-based racing reporter and insider Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2025 Churchill Downs 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.

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.

She started off 2025 by correctly going all-in on Citizen Bull to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, and she also predicted the winners of the Saudi Cup (Forever Young), San Felipe Stakes (Journalism), Arkansas Derby (Sandman) and Kentucky Oaks (Good Cheer). Anyone who has followed her is WAY UP. Join SportsLine now to unlock her 2025 Churchill Downs Stakes picks here, and use promo code "JOCKEY" to unlock 50% off!

For the 2025 Churchill Downs Stakes, Yu has made her picks and constructed her bets. One surprise: Yu is completely fading Madaket Road, even though he is the 2-1 favorite. "The turnback to a one-turn mile seems ideal in theory, but I have a hard time with the horses he beat at one turn," Yu told SportsLine. She is not using Madaket Road in any of her 2025 Churchill Downs Stakes bets. Join SportsLine now to get her full 2025 Churchill Downs Stakes insider picks, and get 50% off using the promo code "JOCKEY"!

Instead, Yu's top pick is a horse who "wants to run at a target." She is including this horse in her 2025 Churchill Downs Stakes bets, and so should you. You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see her picks before locking in any of your own!

So which horse wins the 2025 Churchill Downs Stakes? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? ... Join SportsLine right now to get Michelle Yu's 2025 Churchill Downs Stakes picks and bets, all from the racing insider who has been red-hot this year! Use promo code "JOCKEY" to unlock 50% off before it's gone!