2026 San Felipe Stakes odds, horses, field: West coast-based racing insider offers best bets, top picks for Saturday's Kentucky Derby prep race

The Grade 1-winning Brant can establish himself as a leading Kentucky Derby contender when he leaves the starting gate in the 2026 San Felipe Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Trained by Bob Baffert, Brant has two wins in three starts. But he has not raced since a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Halloween. For Saturday, Brant is listed as the 1-1 morning-line favorite in the San Felipe Stakes odds. So Happy (2-1), Potente (9-2), Secured Freedom (8-1) and Start the Ride (12-1) round out the top five choices among the seven San Felipe Stakes horses. Post time for the San Felipe Stakes 2026 is 6:41 p.m. ET, with the forecast calling for temperatures in the mid-70s and no precipitation. 

With several talented horses entering the starting gate on Saturday, you NEED to see what West coast-based racing reporter and insider Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2026 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. She started off 2025 by correctly going all-in on Citizen Bull to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, and she also predicted Forever Young's win in the Saudi Cup, Journalism's win in the San Felipe Stakes, Sandman's win in the Arkansas Derby and Mindframe's win in the Churchill Downs Stakes. She also hit the exacta in the Kentucky Derby.

And in August she hit the Fierceness-Journalism exacta in the Pacific Classic.

For the 2026 San Felipe Stakes, Yu has made her picks and constructed her bets. One surprise: She is completely fading So Happy, even though he is the 2-1 second choice. "This horse is more of a grinder than a sparkler," Yu told SportsLine. She is not using So Happy in any of her wagers.

However Yu's top pick is a horse who is "bigger and stronger" than he was last year. She also is high on a longshot who will "certainly benefit from the pace up front" on Saturday. She is including these horses in her 2026 San Felipe 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 2026 San Felipe Stakes? What longshot is a must-back? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? ... Join SportsLine right now to get Michelle Yu's 2026 San Felipe Stakes picks and bets, all from the racing insider who nailed the Kentucky Derby exacta!