Trainer Brad Cox will try to win the Lilies for the Fillies for the third time when he sends two entries in the 2024 Kentucky Oaks on Friday. The 44-year-old Cox won the race in 2018 with Monomoy Girl and in 2020 with Shedaresthedevil. On Friday, he saddles the favorite, Tarifa, and longshot Gin Gin. Tarifa is 7-2 in the 2024 Kentucky Oaks odds, while Gin Gin is 30-1. Ashland Stakes winner Leslie's Rose (4-1), Just F Y I (9-2), Thorpedo Anna (5-1) and Ways and Means (5-1) round out the top five choices in the 14-filly 2024 Kentucky Oaks field.
Post time for the $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks 2024 is 5:51 p.m. ET. With the Kentucky Oaks' large and wide-open field making for some tough calls, you'll want to see what Santa Anita-based racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2024 Kentucky Oaks 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 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 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.
She enters this year's Kentucky Oaks on a roll. She correctly called National Treasure to win the Pegasus World Cup. In the month leading up to the Oaks, she predicted Stronghold's upset win in the Santa Anita Derby en route to a $219.50 payday and smashed the exacta in the Apple Blossom Handicap as part of a $410 score.
For Friday, Yu has handicapped the 2024 Kentucky Oaks lineup, made her picks and constructed her best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2024 Kentucky Oaks predictions
One surprise: Yu is completely fading Leslie's Rose, even though she is one of the top favorites at 4-1. A $1.15 million purchase at auction last year, Leslie's Rose has made more than $467,000 in her career. She is coming off a three-length win in the Ashland, which is one of the reasons she is just 4-1 on the morning line, behind only Tarifa.
However, two starts ago, Leslie's Rose threw in a clunker, flattening out in the lane to finish third, a performance that still has Yu scratching her head. "I think her price will be too short so I'm going to play against her," Yu told SportsLine. Yu likes six 2024 Kentucky Oaks horses better than Leslie's Rose and will not use her in any 2024 Kentucky Oaks bets.
Another curveball: Yu is high on the chances of 12-1 longshot Power Squeeze. She enters the Kentucky Oaks 2024 on a roll, having won four straight starts, including three graded stakes victories. Despite the winning streak, she is a 12-1 longshot among the 2024 Kentucky Oaks horses.
Trainer Jorge Delgado also has been hot this year, winning at a healthy 23% clip. "Trainer Jorge Delgado can get a horse ready to run," Yu told SportsLine. Yu is using Power Squeeze prominently in her 2024 Kentucky Oaks bets. You can see all of Yu's 2024 Kentucky Oaks bets here.
How to make 2024 Kentucky Oaks picks
Moreover, Yu has an across-the-board wager on an even bigger double-digit longshot who has been "training well." She is including this horse in her 2024 Kentucky Oaks bets, and so should you. She's sharing which 2024 Kentucky Oaks horses to back at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2024 Kentucky Oaks, what other double-digit longshot is a must-back and how has Yu constructed her wagers? Visit SportsLine to see Yu's picks for the Kentucky Oaks, all from the Santa Anita-based racing insider who has nailed multiple double-digit winners at Churchill Downs, and find out.
2024 Kentucky Oaks odds, contenders
| Prg # | Horse | Odds | Projection |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tapit Jenallie | SCR | SEE PICKS |
| 2 | Gin Gin | 30-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 3 | Where's My Ring | 15-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 4 | Regulatory Risk | 20-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 5 | Thorpedo Anna | 5-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 6 | Lemon Muffin | 30-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 7 | Fiona's Magic | 30-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 8 | Tarifa | 7-2 | SEE PICKS |
| 9 | Everland | 30-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 10 | Into Champagne | 30-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 11 | Ways and Means | 5-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 12 | Power Squeeze | 12-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 13 | Just F Y I | 9-2 | SEE PICKS |
| 14 | Leslie's Rose | 4-1 | SEE PICKS |
| 15 | Our Pretty Woman | 15-1 | SEE PICKS |
