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The 2025 Louisiana Derby will run on Saturday, and award-winning trainer Brad Cox will try to lock in another win in this Kentucky Derby prep race at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. A Cox-trained horse has won this race twice in the last four years, with Catching Freedom capturing victory in 2024 en route to the Run for the Roses. This time around, Cox will send John Hancock and Instant Replay into the 2025 Louisiana Derby field. Post time for Saturday's Louisiana Derby 2025 is 6:42 p.m. ET. John Hancock is the 7-2 favorite in the 2025 Louisiana Derby odds, followed by Built at 9-2. Instant Replay is 6-1 odds to win among the 2025 Louisiana Derby horses. 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 Louisiana 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 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.

Last year, Yu correctly called National Treasure to win the Pegasus World Cup, predicted Stronghold's upset win in the Santa Anita Derby and smashed the exacta in the Apple Blossom Handicap. On the Belmont Stakes undercard, she nailed National Treasure's win in the Met Mile, and had the winner and exacta in the Woody Stephens Stakes. She closed out the year by hitting the exacta in the Breeders' Cup Classic.  

She started off 2025 by correctly going all-in on Citizen Bull to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, and she also predicted Forever Young's win in the $20 million Saudi Cup and Journalism's win in the San Felipe Stakes this year.  

Now, Yu has handicapped the 2025 Louisiana Derby lineup, made her picks and constructed her best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.

Top 2025 Louisiana Derby predictions

One surprise: Yu is high on Caldera, even though he is an underdog at 5-1. This D. Wayne Lukas product and son of Liam's Map got off to a hot start in his maiden victory, however the expert was unsatisfied by his leisurely pace down the stretch. Yu was impressed by Caldera's next race, however, where he instead picked up speed late and challenged Kentucky Derby hopeful Getaway Car. Caldera was the runner-up by a nose.

"In his maiden win, he went to the lead and walked the dog so I was dubious about him. But in the Sunland, he was able to reverse tactics effectively and nearly reeled in a Bob Baffert-trained frontrunner," Yu told SportsLine. You can see all of Yu's 2025 Louisiana Derby bets here.

How to make 2025 Louisiana Derby picks

Yu is focusing her wagers around a longshot who "has done nothing but show up on race day." She is including this horse in her 2025 Louisiana Derby bets, and so should you. She's sharing which horses to back at SportsLine.

So who wins the 2025 Louisiana Derby? And which horse shocks at Fairgrounds Race Course? Visit SportsLine to see Yu's picks for the Louisiana Derby 2025, all from the Santa Anita-based racing insider who nailed the Breeders' Cup Classic, and find out. 

2025 Louisiana Derby odds, contenders

HorseOddsPicks
John Hancock7-2SEE PICKS
Chunk of Gold8-1SEE PICKS
Tiztastic8-1SEE PICKS
Yinzer12-1SEE PICKS
Caldera5-1SEE PICKS
Built9-2SEE PICKS
Vassimo12-1SEE PICKS
Furio12-1SEE PICKS
Instant Replay6-1SEE PICKS
Hypnus12-1SEE PICKS