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Qualifying points in the 2025 Road to the Kentucky Derby will be awarded on Saturday at the 2025 Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack. The 2025 Wood Memorial field includes 12 horses, seven of them having already run on the Kentucky Derby trail. Hill Road began his career on the turf in Ireland before coming to America for a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He finished third in the Tampa Bay Derby after switching to trainer Chad Brown's barn and is considered one of the top 2025 Wood Memorial contenders. Post time is 6:10 p.m. ET.
Rodriguez is the 5-2 favorite in the 2025 Wood Memorial odds, while Captain Cook is 7-2 and Hill Road is 9-2. Should you use those 2025 Wood Memorial horses in your 2025 Wood Memorial bets? With talented three-year-olds set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what Santa Anita-based racing reporter and insider Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2025 Wood Memorial 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, San Felipe Stakes and Arkansas Derby, 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.
Now, Yu has handicapped the 2025 Wood Memorial lineup, made her picks and constructed her best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2025 Wood Memorial predictions
One surprise: Yu's top pick is not Rodriguez, even though he is the betting favorite at 5-2. The Bob Baffert-trained horse broke his maiden in his second attempt when he beat a small field as an odds-on favorite. He moved onto the Derby trail at Santa Anita, finishing second in the Robert B. Lewis and third in the San Felipe.
Rodriguez only faced five horses in those races, so he is facing a larger field on Saturday. He is also taking blinders off for the first time and is starting on the inside post. Yu believes Rodriguez is "still a little immature," one reason why she is taking a different horse to win Saturday's race. You can see all of Yu's 2025 Wood Memorial bets here.
How to make 2025 Wood Memorial picks
Instead, Yu's top pick is a horse who was "bred to want the distance." She is including this horse in her 2025 Wood Memorial bets, and so should you. She's sharing which 2025 Wood Memorial horses to back at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2025 Wood Memorial? And which horse shocks at Aqueduct Racetrack? Visit SportsLine to see Yu's picks for the Wood Memorial 2025, all from the Santa Anita-based racing insider who nailed the Breeders' Cup Classic, and find out.
2025 Wood Memorial odds, contenders
| Horse | Odds | Picks |
| Rodriguez | 5-2 | SEE PICKS |
| Captain Cook | 7-2 | SEE PICKS |
| Tiger Twenty Four | 30-1 | SEE PICKS |
| My Mitole | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| Sand Devil | 8-1 | SEE PICKS |
| Hill Road | 9-2 | SEE PICKS |
| Grande | 5-1 | SEE PICKS |
| Passion Rules | 12-1 | SEE PICKS |
| Bear Claw Necklace | 50-1 | SEE PICKS |
| McAfee | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| Statesman | 15-1 | SEE PICKS |
| Omaha Omaha | 30-1 | SEE PICKS |
