An international field of some of the best three-year-old turf horses comes together on Saturday afternoon in the inaugural running of the Jockey Club Derby at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. The Chad Brown-trained Digital Age has been installed as the lukewarm 5-2 favorite. Post time for the 1½-mile race is 5:47 p.m. ET. 

With unknown horses from Europe entering the starting gate, you'll want to hear what SportsLine writer Gene Menez has to say before making any 2019 Jockey Club Derby picks of your own.

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. Four years ago, while writing for Sports on Earth, Menez accurately gave out the 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.

And two weeks ago for SportsLine, he gave out the winning exacta and trifecta in the Travers Stakes, turning $50 into $220.

Now, Menez has handicapped the 2019 Jockey Club Derby field, made his picks and formulated his bets.

We can tell you that he is fading A Thread of Blue, the third choice at 4-1. In fact, Menez doesn't have A Thread of Blue in his top three.

Instead, Menez is high on a double-digit long shot hitting the board at a lucrative price. He's including this horse in his exactas and trifectas, and so should you. You NEED to see which horse it is before making any picks of your own.

So who wins Saturday's Jockey Club Derby? And what big long shot hits the board? ... Join SportsLine now to get Gene Menez's Jockey Club Derby analysis and exotic plays, all from the insider who hit the exacta and trifecta in the Travers Stakes two weeks ago!