Gulfstream Park's road to the 2023 Kentucky Derby begins on Saturday when the starting gate opens in the 2023 Holy Bull Stakes. The Holy Bull Stakes 2023 is the first of three Gulfstream Park races that award qualifying points for the Derby, giving 20 points to the winner. The race will be followed by the Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 4 and the Florida Derby on April 1. For Saturday the Dale Romans-trained Cyclone Mischief is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the 2023 Holy Bull Stakes odds. Legacy Isle, trained by Rohan Crichton, and Rocket Can, trained by Bill Mott, have the second-lowest odds at 7-2 on the morning line.
Post time for the $250,000 race is 5:43 p.m. ET. With eight lightly raced 3-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 2023 Holy Bull Stakes picks.
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.
On Dec. 26, Menez hit the Pick 5 at Santa Anita Park for $798.70. Two weeks he cashed the winner of the Lecomte for $172.50, and last week he nailed the exacta in the Southwest Stakes for $468.
Now, he has handicapped the 2023 Holy Bull Stakes lineup, made his picks and constructed his bets. Head to SportsLine to see them.
Top 2023 Holy Bull Stakes predictions
One surprise: Menez's top pick is not Cyclone Mischief. The 2-1 favorite on the morning line, Cyclone Mischief bounced back from a seventh-place finish in the Kentucky Jockey Club with a victory in an allowance race at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 8. That win earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 90, the best of any horse in Saturday's Holy Bull.
But Cyclone Mischief's trainer, Dale Romans, hasn't won a stakes race since 2020. Also, the horse will have to race without Lasix on Saturday. "There are enough question marks with this colt to make his 2-1 morning-line price unattractive," Menez told SportsLine. Menez prefers another horse in the Holy Bull. See who it is at SportsLine.
How to make 2023 Holy Bull Stakes picks
Menez's top pick is a horse who "has been training forwardly." He also is high on another horse who "may be getting better at the right time." He is including these horses in his wagers, and so should you. He's sharing which horses to back only at SportsLine.
So who wins the Holy Bull Stakes 2023? And how has Menez constructed his wagers? Check out the latest Holy Bull Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Menez's picks for the Holy Bull Stakes.
2023 Holy Bull Stakes odds, post positions
| Prg # | Horse | Odds | Projection |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lord Miles | 4-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 2 | West Coast Cowboy | 12-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 3 | Shadow Dragon | 15-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 4 | Cyclone Mischief | 2-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 5 | Mr Bob | 10-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 6 | Legacy Isle | 7-2 | SEE PICKS |
| 7 | Il Miracolo | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 8 | Rocket Can | 7-2 | SEE PICKS |
