contenders, horses, field, lineup, and odds for the 2023 Kentucky Derby: Picks from an expert who has predicted winning prep races

Should you place your 2023 Kentucky Derby wagers at Churchill Downs on Forte, Derma Sotogake, or Kingsbarns?

The 2023 Kentucky Derby candidates do not hail from a diverse range of backgrounds or places. Verifying, the son of Triple Crown champion Justify, is one horse whose sire requires no introduction. Verifying, a three-year-old who has made three races, has won at Oaklawn Park, placed fourth in the Rebel Stakes, and finished second in the Blue Grass Stakes. In the 2023 Kentucky Derby odds for the event on Saturday at Churchill Downs, he is a 15-1 longshot. Among the horses entered in the 2023 Kentucky Derby, Forte is the 3-1 favourite, followed by Tapit Trice at 5-1 and Angel of Empire at 8-1. All three might be the main attractions of wagers on the 2023 Kentucky Derby.

Post time for the Triple Crown’s first leg is 6:57 p.m. ET. You’ll want to hear what SportsLine’s horse racing expert Gene Menez has to say before making any Kentucky Derby picks because there isn’t much separating the top contenders in this competitive 2023 Kentucky Derby field.

Menez, a former Sports Illustrated editor and correspondent, spent over 14 years covering a variety of sports for the publication and its website, including horse racing. He worked as SI’s Triple Crown handicapper between 2010 and 2012 and projected Super Saver would win the Kentucky Derby in 2010. Menez correctly predicted the Kentucky Derby superfecta in 2015 while writing for Sports on Earth (American Pharoah, Firing Line, Dortmund, and Frosted), which paid $1,268.20 for $2. Then, in 2017, he tweeted out his predictions for the Kentucky Derby, including Always Dreaming to win, and he won the Pick 4, which returned approximately $6,900 on a $1 wager.

Menez won $798.70 on December 26 at Santa Anita Park when he nailed the Pick 5. And in his most recent seven races for SportsLine, he has earned money on the Lecomte Stakes winner ($172.50), the Southwest Stakes exacta ($468), the Holy Bull Stakes winner ($180), the Sam F. Davis Stakes winner ($228), the Rebel Stakes place horse ($102.50), and the Jenny Wiley Stakes trifecta ($255.50).

He has now handicapped the 2023 Kentucky Derby field, selected his bets, and created his picks. They are only seen here.

Top 2023 Kentucky Derby predictions from experts

Even though Forte is the current two-year-old champion and the 3-1 favourite for the Kentucky Derby, Menez is discounting him. In seven career starts, the son of Violence by Queen Caroline has already amassed five graded-stakes victories. With 190 points and nearly $2.4 million in career earnings—nearly twice as much as any other horse entered in the 2023 Kentucky Derby field—he led the Road to the Kentucky Derby standings. How well his speed will hold up over a longer race is up for debate, though.

Menez is concerned about Forte’s declining Beyer Speed Figures, which have dropped from 100 in his final race as a two-year-old at the Breeders’ Cup Futurity to 98 in his victory at the Fountain of Youth Stakes and 95 at the Florida Derby. In their third season, Two Phil’s, Practical Move, Verifying, and Tapit Trice have all recorded greater Beyer Speed Figures than Forte’s top. See which other horses are fading right now.

Another surprise: Despite being a 12-1 longshot, Menez is optimistic about Two Phil’s chances. At Colonial Downs in Virginia, he broke his maiden on his second attempt last summer before winning a two-year-old event at Canterbury. Last October at Churchill Downs, Two Phil’s added a victory in the Street Sense, giving him invaluable experience on this track.

As a three-year-old, he then put together strong showings in the Lecomte and Risen Star. With a 101 Beyer Speed Figure, the best of any three-year-old male this year, Two Phil’s won the Jeff Ruby Steaks, securing his place in the 2023 Kentucky Derby field and demonstrating his versatility. Menez is certain that Two Phil’s is undervalued going into Saturday’s race, even though some of that pace can be ascribed to the synthetic surface. Look at the other horses to support here.

How to place bets on the 2023 Kentucky Derby

The horse Menez thinks is best is one that is “getting better at the right time.” Additionally, he is pumped about a huge double-digit longshot who “always passes horses late.” He is betting on these horses for the 2023 Kentucky Derby, and you ought to do the same. The only place where he shares which horses to back is SportsLine.

What two-digit long shot ultimately triumphs in the Kentucky Derby? What is a must-back double-digit longshot? And how have Menez’s bets been put together? View the most recent 2023 Kentucky Derby odds below, then go over to SportsLine to view Menez’s Kentucky Derby predictions, all from the same handicapper who correctly predicted this year’s preliminaries.

Kentucky Derby odds, horses, and post draw for 2023