Saturday is Travers Stakes day at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York. There are 14 races on the card, including six stakes races. Before you make any picks, you NEED to know how SportsLine experts Gene Menez, Michelle Yu and Jeff Hochman have handicapped the day.
Gene Menez, a former reporter and editor at Sports Illustrated, 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.
Michelle Yu, an on-air host and reporter with a background training horses who has provided racing analysis for TVG, HRTV and the Breeders' Cup, 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 four years ago, she suggested a play on All Other 3-Year-Olds, which cashed at a whopping 18-1 when Rich Strike won. And last year, she hit the Sovereignty-Journalism exacta in the Kentucky Derby.
Jeff Hochman has shown a profit in 22 of the past 42 Triple Crown races. He nailed Big Brown in the 2008 Kentucky Derby at odds of 2-1. More recently, he swept the 2022 Triple Crown, capped off by Mo Donegal's win in the Belmont Stakes. In 2023, he cashed the Preakness with National Treasure.
For Saturday, the three of them handicapped the card, beginning with the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes at 3:19 p.m. ET and ending with the Travers Stakes, and identified their top three choices in each race. They also have picked out one best bet and one longshot of the day. We can tell you that Hochman's best bet of the day is Deep Learning (4-1) in the Lake Placid Stakes (4:39 p.m. ET).
In addition, Yu is high on a 12-1 longshot. You NEED to see their analysis before making any selections.
So which double-digit longshot can win? And how do the experts see all six races playing out? ... Join SportsLine now to get selections for Saturday, all from SportsLine's accomplished horse racing experts.
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