A spot in the Kentucky Derby will be on the line when the starting gate opens in the 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday. One of the key prep races on the road to Louisville, the Fountain of Youth Stakes will award Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale. That means the winner of the Fountain of Youth Stakes 2025 will essentially be guaranteed a spot in the starting gate in the Run for the Roses on May 3. The Todd Pletcher-trained River Thames is the 2-1 favorite in the 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes odds. Burnham Square (5-2), Sovereignty (3-1), Gate to Wire (6-1) and Keep It Easy (8-1) round out the top five choices among the eight 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes horses. Post time is 5:44 p.m. ET. The latest 2025 Fountain of Youth forecast is calling for partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-70s.

With talented 3-year-olds set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what SportsLine writer Gene Menez, who crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders' Cup Saturday, has to say before making any Fountain of Youth Stakes picks or horse racing predictions.

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.

In May of last year, Menez gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby. In November, he crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders' Cup Saturday for a $5,303 score. And he hit the winner and exacta in the Holy Bull Stakes in February for a $422.50 payday. Anyone who followed his lead could have been way up.

For Saturday, Menez has handicapped the 2025 Fountain of Youth field, made his picks and constructed his tickets.

We can tell you that Menez is high on Gate to Wire, even though he's a 6-1 longshot. "Sons and daughters of Munnings don't typically excel beyond one mile, but Gate to Wire's female family is laden with distance turf horses," Menez told SportsLine. "If he doesn't bounce off that last effort, he could outrun his odds."

Instead, Menez's top pick is a horse who isn't known for distance racing but "checks all the boxes." Menez is including this horse in his 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes bets, and so should you. You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see which horse it is before making any 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes picks of your own.

So which horse wins the 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes? And how has Menez constructed his wagers? ... Join SportsLine now to get the top 2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes picks and bets, all from the expert who gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby and crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders' Cup Saturday!