Barnes, the future book favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, can lock up a spot in the Run for the Roses when he faces five other horses in the 2025 San Felipe Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita Park. A $3.2 million son of Into Mischief who is named after trainer Bob Baffert's top assistant Jimmy Barnes, the equine Barnes is a perfect 2-for-2 in his career. On Saturday, he's the 1-1 favorite in the 2025 San Felipe Stakes odds. Rodriguez (9-5), Journalism (7-2), Mellencamp (6-1), Berlin Wall (30-1) and Smooth Cruisein (30-1) round out the six-horse 2025 San Felipe Stakes field. Post time is 6:43 p.m. ET. The latest 2025 San Felipe Stakes weather is calling for cloudy skies and temperatures around 60.
With talented 3-year-old horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what Santa Anita-based racing reporter and insider Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2025 San Felipe 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 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 the Derby.
Last year, she correctly called National Treasure to win the Pegasus World Cup, predicted Stronghold's upset win in the Santa Anita Derby and smashed the exacta in the Apple Blossom Handicap. On the Belmont Stakes undercard, she nailed National Treasure's win in the Met Mile and had the winner and exacta in the Woody Stephens Stakes. She closed out the year by hitting the exacta in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
She started off 2025 by correctly going all-in on Citizen Bull to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, and just last week she predicted Forever Young's win in the $20 million Saudi Cup, the world's richest race. Anyone who has followed her is way up.
For the 2025 San Felipe Stakes, Yu has made her picks and constructed her bets. One surprise: Yu is completely fading Barnes, even though he is the 1-1 favorite! "His pedigree and training say that [two turns] should not be a problem, but there is never a guarantee," Yu told Sportsline. Yu is not using Barnes in any of her wagers.
Instead, Yu's top pick is a horse who "should make headlines." She is including this horse in her 2025 San Felipe Stakes bets, and so should you. You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see her picks before locking in any of your own.
So who wins the 2025 San Felipe Stakes? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? ... Join SportsLine right now to get Michelle Yu's 2025 San Felipe Stakes picks, all from the racing insider who nailed the Breeders' Cup Classic and hit the winner of the $20 million Saudi Cup last week!
GET VEGAS EXPERT PICKS FOR NFL, MLB, NBA, CBB, GOLF, NHL, HORSE RACING AND MORE - PLUS ADVANCED COMPUTER SIMULATIONS, WINNING TOOLS, AND MORE!
