Adare Manor can add to her sparkling résumé when she leaves the starting gate in the 2024 Apple Blossom Handicap on Saturday at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. Trained by Bob Baffert, Adare Manor has won more than $1.06 million in her career. She is coming off a runner-up effort in the Beholder Mile in her first start of 2024. On Saturday, she is the 9-5 favorite in the 2024 Apple Blossom Handicap odds. Grade 1 winner Wet Paint is the 3-1 second choice, while Gulfstream Park shipper Honor D Lady is 7-2 in the nine-horse 2024 Apple Blossom Handicap field.
The 2024 Apple Blossom Handicap post time is 6:46 p.m. ET. With several accomplished fillies and mares set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what Santa Anita-based racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2024 Apple Blossom Handicap 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 she crushed the Saudi Cup, riding 15-1 winner Panthalassa, nailed Derma Sotogake to win the UAE Derby and hit the exacta in the Santa Anita Derby. She hit the exacta in the Preakness Stakes and Hollywood Gold Cup and had both the winner and exacta in the Summertime Oaks and the Prince of Wales's Stakes. She also smashed the Haskell Stakes for a $663 score, hitting 12-1 winner Geaux Rocket Ride as well as the exacta.
In January, she correctly called National Treasure to win the Pegasus World Cup, and last week she predicted Stronghold's upset win in the Santa Anita Derby en route to a $219.50 payday.
Now, Yu has handicapped the 2024 Apple Blossom Handicap lineup, made her picks and constructed her best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2024 Apple Blossom Handicap predictions
One surprise: Yu is high on Bellamore. even though she's a 12-1 longshot. Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by son Keith Asmussen, Bellamore started off her 6-year-old campaign by winning the Houston Ladies Classic on Jan. 27. She followed that up with a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Azeri at Oaklawn Park on March 9.
Those efforts continued Bellamore's career pattern; she has finished in the top three in 14 of 21 career starts. "She picks up a lot of checks," Yu told SportsLine. She is using Bellamore prominently in her wagers. You can see all of Yu's 2024 Apple Blossom Handicap bets here.
How to make 2024 Apple Blossom Handicap picks
Moreover, Yu's top pick is "super consistent." She's also high on a double-digit longshot who "seems to run great races against easier foes." She is including these horses in her 2024 Apple Blossom Handicap bets, and so should you. She's sharing which horses to back at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2024 Apple Blossom Handicap? What double-digit longshot is a must-back? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? Visit SportsLine to see Yu's picks for the Apple Blossom Handicap, all from the Santa Anita-based racing insider who just nailed the Santa Anita Derby, and find out.
2024 Apple Blossom Handicap odds, contenders
| Prg # | Horse | Odds | Projection |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Free Like a Girl | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 2 | Taxed | 5-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 3 | Wet Paint | 3-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 4 | Adare Manor | 9-5 | SEE PICKS |
| 5 | Flying Connection | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 6 | Misty Veil | 12-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 7 | Honor D Lady | 7-2 | SEE PICKS |
| 8 | Bellamore | 12-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 9 | Shotgun Hottie | 12-1 | SEE PICKS |
