2025 Gulfstream Park morning line odds: Racing writer gives Pick 3 selections for Jan. 3

World class horse racing takes place at Gulfstream Park in South Florida, and on Saturday there's a Pick 3 that begins with Race 9 at 4:18 p.m. ET and ends with Race 11. Before you make any picks, you NEED to know how SportsLine writer Gene Menez has handicapped the sequence.

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 2024, Menez gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby.

Menez excels on horse racing's biggest days. In 2024 he crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders' Cup Saturday for a $5,303 windfall. Last year he nailed the winner, trifecta and superfecta in the Florida Derby for a $529.60 score and the winner and trifecta in the Blue Grass Stakes for a $761.96 jackpot. Hit the late Pick 4 on Kentucky Oaks day for $915.48. In the Kentucky Derby, he hammered the exacta and trifecta for a $1,045 payout.

And in November, Menez finished 115th out of 643 entries in the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, the biggest live-money handicapping tournament in the country.

For Saturday, Menez has handicapped the Pick 3 beginning with Race 9, made his picks and constructed his tickets. We can tell you that Menez is high on Thunder Chuck, a 6-1 shot in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes, the second leg of the Pick 3. "This son of Good Magic should only get better with distance for underrated trainer Jorge Delgado, and he draws well on the far outside of this one-turn race," Menez tells SportsLine. Thunder Chuck is Menez's top pick in Race 9 and the only A horse on his Pick 3 tickets.

In addition, Menez's top pick in one of the races is a longshot. This horse "switches to a high percentage jockey" and could spice up the payouts. Menez is including this horse on his tickets, and so should you. You NEED to see Menez's analysis before making any selections.

So which longshot can win? And how has Menez constructed his tickets? ... Join SportsLine now to get selections at Gulfstream for Saturday, all from the horse racing writer who finished 115th in the 2025 Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge.