Three of the highest 4 favorites for the Kentucky Derby will sq. off in crucial Derby prep race of the yr when the beginning gate opens within the 2026 Florida Derby on Saturday at Gulfstream Park in South Florida. In the newest Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool Chief Wallabee (8-1), Commandment (12-1) and Nearly (12-1) all closed among the many prime 4 decisions, simply behind the favored Paladin (8-1). Those three are set to fulfill within the Florida Derby, and if any of these wins, he would set up himself because the horse to beat within the first leg of the Triple Crown, on May 2. For Saturday Chief Wallabee has been put in because the 2-1 morning-line favourite within the Florida Derby odds, simply forward of Commandment (5-2) and Nearly (3-1). The Puma (9-2) rounds out the highest 4 decisions within the odds among the many eight Florida Derby horses. (Redland Rebels is predicted to scratch.) Post time for the Florida Derby is 6:42 p.m. ET, with temperatures forecasted to be within the high-70s round put up time with an opportunity of showers.
With a number of gifted horses set to enter the beginning gate on Saturday, you NEED to see what SportsLine horse racing professional Gene Menez has to say earlier than making any 2026 Florida Derby picks or horse racing predictions contemplating what he pulled off in final yr’s race.
A former reporter and editor at Sports Illustrated, Menez lined an array of sports activities, together with horse racing, for the journal and its web site for nearly 14 years. Between 2010 and 2012, he served as SI’s handicapper for the Triple Crown races and accurately predicted Super Saver to win the Kentucky Derby in 2010.
In 2015, whereas writing for Sports on Earth, Menez precisely 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, together with Always Dreaming to win, and hit the Pick 4, which paid nearly $6,900 on a $1 bet. In 2024, Menez gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a reside longshot within the Kentucky Derby.
Menez excels on horse racing’s greatest days. In 2024 he crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders’ Cup Saturday for a $5,303 windfall. Last yr he nailed the winner, trifecta and superfecta within the Florida Derby for a $529.60 rating and the winner and trifecta within the Blue Grass Stakes for a $761.96 jackpot. Hit the late Pick 4 on Kentucky Oaks day for $915.48. In the Kentucky Derby, he hammered the exacta and trifecta for a $1,045 payout.
And simply final month, on Fountain of Youth day, he struck huge, hitting the late Pick 5 for $4,648.
Last yr Menez put his handicapping abilities up in opposition to the best horseplayers and completed a hundred and fifteenth out of 643 entries within the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge, the most important live-money handicapping match within the nation.
Now, Menez has handicapped the 2026 Florida Derby area and revealed his picks. We can inform you that Menez’s prime decide shouldn’t be Chief Wallabee, despite the fact that he’s the 2-1 favourite. “The 2-1 price is too short for me to make him my top pick,” he says. Menez prefers one other horse over Chief Wallabee within the Florida Derby.
Instead, Menez’s prime decide is a horse who’s most probably to “move forward off his last race.“ Menez is together with this horse in his 2026 Florida Derby bets, and so must you. You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see which horse it’s earlier than making any 2026 Florida Derby picks of your individual.
