Ten horses will embark on their quest towards qualifying for the 2025 Kentucky Derby on Saturday at the 2025 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, a Kentucky Derby prep race. Only one horse has ever won the Gotham Stakes and Kentucky Derby, the immortal Secretariat. Is there another elite horse lurking in the 2025 Gotham Stakes field? Sand Devil, a New York-bred horse who is 3-0 at Aqueduct this winter, is the 9-5 favorite in the 2025 Gotham Stakes odds. Sacrosanct, who is 4-0 over his career, has the second-lowest odds among the 2025 Gotham Stakes horses at 3-1, so should you include any of the favorites in your 2025 Gotham Stakes bets? Post time is 4:18 p.m. ET. With several talented three-year-olds set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you’ll want to see what SportsLine writer Gene Menez has to say before making any 2025 Gotham Stakes picks or horse racing predictions.
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.
In 2015, while writing for Sports on Earth, Menez accurately gave out the Kentucky Derby 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.
In May of last year, Menez gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby. Last November, he crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders’ Cup Saturday for a $5,303 score.
For Saturday, Menez has handicapped the 2025 Gotham Stakes field, made his picks and constructed his best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
One surprise: Menez is high on Calling Card, even though he is a longshot at 6-1. The New York-bred horse ran three of his first five races in New York, which included a victory on the dirt at Aqueduct in November. Calling Card finished fifth in his debut in Saratoga in August and placed second on the turf at Aqueduct in October. His most recent run didn’t go well with an eighth-place finish in New Orleans on Jan. 18, but Menez believes a return to New York can make a substantial difference.
“He’s back at Aqueduct, where he won a one-mile dirt race like this one by more than 17 lengths back in November,” Menez told SportsLine. “If he can get back to that form, he has a shot in a race that figures to set up for his off-the-pace running style.” You can see all of Menez’s 2025 Gotham Stakes bets here.
In addition, Menez is backing a horse with “tenacity.” He also is high on a double-digit longshot who is “getting better at the right time.” He’s sharing what horses to back only at SportsLine.
So what horse wins the Gotham Stakes 2025? And which double-digit longshot is a must-back? Visit SportsLine to see Menez’s picks for the Gotham Stakes, all from the expert who gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby and crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders’ Cup Saturday for $5,303, and find out.
