San Felipe Stakes winner Journalism can stamp himself as the favorite for the Kentucky Derby when the starting gate opens for the 2025 Santa Anita Derby on Saturday at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Trained by Michael McCarthy, Journalism has three wins and one third-place finish in four career starts. He enters the race as the favorite for the Kentucky Derby in futures wagering. On Saturday, Journalism is the 6-5 favorite in the 2025 Santa Anita Derby odds. Citizen Bull (9-5), Barnes (3-1), Baeza (6-1) and Westwood (20-1) round out the five-horse 2025 Santa Anita Derby field. Hall of Famer Bob Baffert is the winningest trainer in Santa Anita Derby history, although he hasn’t taken home victory since 2019. Post time for the Kentucky Derby prep race is 7:46 p.m. ET.
With talented but inexperienced 3-year-old horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you NEED to see what Santa Anita-based racing reporter and insider Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2025 Santa Anita Derby 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 the last two years, Yu nailed the winners of the Pegasus World Cup, Santa Anita Derby, Apple Blossom Handicap, Met Mile, Breeders’ Cup Classic, Robert B. Lewis Stakes, Saudi Cup, and San Felipe Stakes, among others. She also nailed the race-day result of the Kentucky Derby in 2021 and 2023. Anyone who has followed her on these picks is way up.
For the 2025 Santa Anita Derby, Yu has made her picks and constructed her bets. One surprise: Yu’s top pick is not Journalism, even though he is the 6-5 favorite. “This will be his toughest task to date,” Yu told Sportsline. Yu prefers another horse over Journalism.
Instead, Yu’s top pick is a horse who “has been working absolutely lights-out.” She is including this horse in her 2025 Santa Anita Derby bets, and so should you. You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see her picks before locking in any of your own.
So which horse wins the 2025 Santa Anita Derby? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? … Join SportsLine right now to get Michelle Yu’s 2025 Santa Anita Derby picks, all from the racing insider who nailed the Breeders’ Cup Classic and hit the winners of the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, Saudi Cup and San Felipe Stakes this year!
