2026 Churchill Downs morning line odds: Racing writer gives Turf Pick 4 picks for Kentucky Oaks day

Friday is Kentucky Oaks day at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and there's a Turf Pick 4 that begins with Race 5 at 2:35 p.m. ET and ends with the Edgewood Stakes. Before you make any picks, you NEED to know how SportsLine writer Gene Menez has handicapped the sequence considering what he pulled off in February.

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. He 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 earlier this year he struck big on Fountain of Youth day, hitting the late Pick 5 for $4,648.

Last year Menez put his handicapping skills up against the best horseplayers and finished 115th out of 643 entries in the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, the biggest live-money handicapping tournament in the country.

For Friday, Menez has handicapped the Turf Pick 4 beginning with Race 5, made his picks and constructed his tickets. We can tell you that Menez is high on Queen Maxima, a 7-2 shot in the Unbridled Sidney Stakes, the second leg of the Pick 4. "There are excuses for Queen Maxima's last race when she was forced to walk back down the hill course at Santa Anita before returning to the starting gate," he tells SportsLine. Queen Maxima is Menez's top pick in the Elkhorn Stakes and the only horse from the race on his Pick 4.

In addition, Menez is high on a big double-digit longshot on Friday. This horse is a "crazy bomb" 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 double-digit longshot can win? And how has Menez constructed his tickets? ... Join SportsLine now to get selections for Friday, all from the horse racing writer who finished 115th in the 2025 Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge and hit the late Pick 5 at Gulfstream in February for $4,648.