Eight Kentucky Derby hopefuls will battle it out on Saturday at the 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Florida. With the top five finishers being awarded qualifying points on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale, a victory at the Fountain of Youth Stakes 2025 is a major stepping stone to racing at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher is the winningest trainer in this event, including a victory with Derby-contender Forte in 2023. He has two 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes horses racing on Saturday.

Post time for Saturday’s race is 5:44 p.m. ET. Pletcher product River Thames is the 2-1 favorite in the 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes odds, while opponents Burnham Square (5-2), Sovereignty (3-1) round out the top three. 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 Fountain of Youth 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 Fountain of Youth Stakes field, made his picks and constructed his best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.

Top 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes predictions

One surprise: Menez is high on Gate to Wire, even though he is a longshot at 6-1. The expert acknowledges that this son of Munnings doesn’t come from a distance pedigree and only won his debut over his first four starts. However, Menez likes what he saw from Gate to Wire at the Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 1. In that race, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt pulled ahead of the pack with a 1/16 of a mile to go and won by five lengths.

“If he doesn’t bounce off that last effort, he could outrun his odds,” Menez told SportsLine. You can see all of Menez’s 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes bets here.

How to make 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes picks

Menez is also backing a favorite who isn’t known for distance racing but “checks all the boxes.” Menez is including this horse in his 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes bets, and so should you. He’s sharing what horses to back at SportsLine.

So what horse wins the Fountain of Youth Stakes 2025? And how has Menez constructed his wagers? Visit SportsLine to see Menez’s picks for the Fountain of Youth 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. 

2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes odds, contenders, post positions