Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will try to add to his record number of wins in the California Crown Stakes when he sends out three horses in the 2024 California Crown on Saturday at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Baffert has won the race formerly known as the Awesome Again Stakes a record eight times. On Saturday he goes for No. 9 with National Treasure, Muth and Newgate. National Treasure is the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the California Crown odds, while Muth is the 2-1 second choice among the seven California Crown horses. Newgate is 6-1. Post time is 7:43 p.m. ET. 

With several accomplished horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what Santa Anita Park-based racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2024 California Crown 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.

She enters the California Crown on a roll. This 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. Anyone who has followed her is way up.

For the 2024 California Crown, Yu has made her picks and constructed her bets. Join SportsLine here to see them.

One surprise: Yu's top pick is not National Treasure, even though he is the 8-5 favorite. "Remember: He has never won a race at Santa Anita," Yu told SportsLine. Yu prefers two horses over National Treasure.

Instead, Yu's top pick is a horse who was "bucking the trend" in his last race. She is including this horse in her 2024 California Crown bets, and so should you. You ABSOLUTELY need to see her picks before locking in any of your own.

So who wins the California Crown? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? ... Join SportsLine right now to get Michelle Yu's 2024 California Crown picks, all from the racing insider who has been red-hot all year!