2024 Kentucky Derby predictions, horses, odds, contenders: Surprising picks by top horse racing insider
Japanese invader Forever Young will try to end the drought of UAE Derby winners in the Run for the Roses when he leaves the starting gate in the 2024 Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs. Horses who have raced in the UAE Derby are 0-for-19 all-time in the Kentucky Derby, and the best finish was a fifth-place by Master of Hounds in 2011. Forever Young enters the Kentucky Derby 2024 a perfect 5-for-5 in his career and is a 10-1 shot to win among the 2024 Kentucky Derby horses. Fierceness, who prepped for Louisville by winning the Florida Derby, is the 5-2 favorite in the 2024 Kentucky Derby odds.
The 2024 Kentucky Derby post time is 6:57 p.m. ET. With the Kentucky Derby annually featuring the largest field in North American racing, you’ll want to see what Santa Anita-based racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2024 Kentucky Derby picks, considering the success she’s had handicapping this race.
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 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 two years ago, she suggested a play on All Other 3-Year-Olds, which cashed at a whopping 18-1 when Rich Strike won the Derby.
Yu enters this year’s Kentucky Derby on a roll. She correctly called National Treasure to win the Pegasus World Cup. In the month leading up to the Kentucky Derby, she predicted Stronghold’s upset win in the Santa Anita Derby and smashed the exacta in the Apple Blossom Handicap.
For the first leg of the Triple Crown, Yu has handicapped the 2024 Kentucky Derby lineup, made her picks and constructed her best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2024 Kentucky Derby predictions
One surprise: Yu is fading Fierceness, even though he is the 5-2 Kentucky Derby favorite. That victory was one of the most dominant prep race performances of the last 25 years. It’s the main reason why he is 5-2 on the morning line.
However, the race dynamics of the Florida Derby were much different than what is expected in the Kentucky Derby. In Florida, the other speed horse, Hades, failed to break cleanly from the starting gate, handing an easy lead to Fierceness. “I can’t see him being a lonely leader again in the Derby, and he has thrown in the towel the two times someone eyeballed him,” Yu told SportsLine. See who else to fade here.
Another curveball: Yu is high on Just a Touch, even though he’s a longshot at 10-1 in the Kentucky Derby odds 2024. He’s a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. Sold for $300,000 in April 2023, Just a Touch did not get to the races until Jan. 27, winning a six-furlong sprint at Fair Grounds by 4¼ lengths. He has since stepped up and finished second in two straight stakes races: the Gotham and Blue Grass.
Yu believes the Blue Grass was the perfect prep race for Just a Touch. It was demanding enough to get him fit for the Kentucky Derby, while also representing an improvement in speed figures. “This is the kind of year that a horse with one lifetime win can capture the blanket of roses with the right trip,” Yu told SportsLine. You can see all of Yu’s 2024 Kentucky Derby bets here.
How to make 2024 Kentucky Derby picks
Moreover, Yu’s top pick is a horse who “will be happy to get the added ground” at Churchill Downs. She’s also high on a massive double-digit longshot who “blew my doors off.” She is including these horses in her 2024 Kentucky Derby bets, and so should you. She’s sharing which 2024 Kentucky Derby horses to back at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2024 Kentucky Derby? What double-digit longshot is a must-back? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? Visit SportsLine to see Yu’s picks for the Kentucky Derby, all from the Santa Anita-based racing insider who has a long history of success in the Kentucky Derby, and find out.
