The last major prep race on the road to the Kentucky Derby takes place on Saturday when the West Coast’s top three-year-olds leave the starting gate in the 2022 Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita Park. The Santa Anita Derby is the last prep race offering Derby qualifying points on a 100-40-20-10 basis, meaning the winner and runner-up will likely lock up a spot in the starting gate in the Run for the Roses on May 7. For the Santa Anita Derby 2022, Robert B. Lewis Stakes winner Messier is even-money favorite in the 2022 Santa Anita Derby odds. San Felipe Stakes winner Forbidden Kingdom is 6-5 in the six-horse 2022 Santa Anita Derby field, while Taiba is 4-1.
Post time for the $750,000 race is 5:45 p.m. ET. With very little separating the top two choices on Saturday, you’ll want to see what racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any Santa Anita Derby picks of your own.
Few people in racing are as 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.
She also has tremendous handicapping chops. In the 2011 Kentucky Derby, she correctly tabbed Animal Kingdom to win at a hefty 21-1. In the 2017 Breeders’ Cup, she nailed 11-1 long shot Wuheida to win the Filly and Mare Turf. Last year, in a wide-open Kentucky Derby, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first, as the winner at 12-1.
And since joining SportsLine in November, her picks have cashed in six of 12 races, including the exacta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Now, Yu has handicapped the 2022 Santa Anita Derby lineup, made her picks and constructed her bets. You can only see them here.
Top 2022 Santa Anita Derby picks
One surprise: Yu is high on Taiba, even though he’s an underdog and untested. A $1.7 million purchase last year, Taiba has raced only once, winning his six-furlong debut by more than seven lengths. In that race, he battled from the inside, not the most comfortable spot for a first-time starter, and powered away.
He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 103 for that effort, tying for the best Beyer earned by this year’s crop of three-year-olds. “He could be an absolute freak,” she told SportsLine. Yu is including Taiba prominently in her 2022 Santa Anita Derby betting strategy.
How to make 2022 Santa Anita Derby picks, bets
Yu’s top pick is a horse who is “turning the mental corner at the perfect time and has talent to back it up.” She also is high on a long shot who “has been training like a horse on the [rise].” She is including these horses in her 2022 Santa Anita Derby bets, and so should you. She’s only sharing which horses to back at the Santa Anita Derby 2022 at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2022 Santa Anita Derby? What long shot is a must-back? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? Check out the latest Santa Anita Derby odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Yu’s picks for the Santa Anita Derby, and find out.
