The road to the 2025 Kentucky Derby makes its way to New York when 10 horses battle on Saturday at the 2025 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. The Gotham Stakes 2025 is one of 16 Championship Series races, with the winner earning 50 qualifying points while the remaining four places score on a 25-15-10-5 scale. A victory at the 2025 Gotham Stakes can provide a significant boost towards qualifying for the Kentucky Derby and the chance at a Triple Crown. 

Sand Devil, a New York-bred horse, is the 9-5 favorite in the latest 2025 Gotham Stakes odds. He looks to continue his undefeated winter at Aqueduct, going 3-0 at the track since his debut on Dec. 8. Sacrosanct (3-1), Calling Card (6-1) and Garamond (8-1) have the next lowest odds in the 2025 Gotham Stakes field. 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.

Top 2025 Gotham Stakes predictions

One surprise: Menez is high on Calling Card, even though he is a longshot at 6-1. The expert acknowledges the Michael Maker-trained horse is coming off an eighth-place finish in New Orleans on Jan. 18 in his most recent race, but the last time Calling Card ran at Aqueduct, he won by more than 17 lengths in November. Calling Card will be jockeyed by Kendrick Carmouche, who won the 2020 Gotham Stakes. 

“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,” Menez told SportsLine. You can see all of Menez’s 2025 Gotham Stakes bets here.

How to make 2025 Gotham Stakes picks

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. 

2025 Gotham Stakes odds, contenders, picks