The road to the Kentucky Derby will go through the state of Virginia for the first time when the starting gate opens in the 2025 Virginia Derby on Saturday at Colonial Downs in New Kent County. This is the first year that the Virginia Derby, which had previously been run on grass, will be run on dirt and serve as a points race toward the Kentucky Derby. The winner of Saturday's race will receive 50 qualifying points toward the Run for the Roses, guaranteeing himself a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. Sunland Derby winner Getaway Car has been installed as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the 2025 Virginia Derby odds. The Brad Cox-trained John Hancock is the 3-1 second choice but is set to scratch from the race and run in the Louisiana Derby on March 22 instead. Post time for the $500,000 race is 5:10 p.m. ET.

With talented but inexperienced 3-year-old horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what Santa Anita-based racing reporter and insider Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2025 Virginia Derby 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 three 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 correctly called National Treasure to win the Pegasus World Cup, predicted Stronghold's upset win in the Santa Anita Derby and smashed the exacta in the Apple Blossom Handicap. On the Belmont Stakes undercard, she nailed National Treasure's win in the Met Mile and had the winner and exacta in the Woody Stephens Stakes. She closed out the year by hitting the exacta in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

She started off 2025 by correctly going all-in on Citizen Bull to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, and she also predicted Forever Young's win in the $20 million Saudi Cup and Journalism's win in the San Felipe Stakes this year. Anyone who has followed her is way up.

For the 2025 Virginia Derby, Yu has made her picks and constructed her bets. One surprise: Yu's top pick is not Getaway Car, even though he is the 9-5 favorite. "I would try to beat him because he might not want to go this far," Yu told Sportsline. Yu prefers another horse over Getaway Car.

Instead, Yu's top pick is a horse who is "bred to be the real deal." She also is high on a double-digit longshot who is "interesting." She is including these horses in her 2025 Virginia Derby bets, and so should you. You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see her picks before locking in any of your own.

So who wins the 2025 Virginia Derby? What double-digit longshot is a must-back? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? ... Join SportsLine right now to get Michelle Yu's 2025 Virginia Derby picks, all from the racing insider who nailed the Breeders' Cup Classic and hit the winners of the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, Saudi Cup and San Felipe Stakes this year!