Arkansas Derby 2022 odds, predictions, picks, horses: Expert who’s cashed 6 of 11 races loving big long shot
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The D. Wayne Lukas-trained Secret Oath will find out if she’s capable of beating the boys when she leaves the starting gate in the 2022 Arkansas Derby on Saturday at Oaklawn Park. A three-year-old daughter of 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Arrogate, Secret Oath has four wins in six career starts, all against fillies. On Saturday, she’ll take on eight colts and geldings and can become the first filly to win the Arkansas Derby since Althea, who also was trained by Lukas, in 1984. Secret Oath is the 5-2 favorite in the 2022 Arkansas Derby odds. Doppelganger is 3-1 in the nine-horse 2022 Arkansas Derby field, while We the People is 7-2.
Post time for the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby 2022 is 7:35 p.m. ET. With very little separating the top three choices on Saturday, you’ll want to see what racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2022 Arkansas Derby picks.
Few people in racing are as 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.
She also has tremendous handicapping chops. In the 2011 Kentucky Derby, she correctly tabbed Animal Kingdom to win at a hefty 21-1. In the 2017 Breeders’ Cup, she nailed 11-1 long shot Wuheida to win the Filly and Mare Turf. Last year, in a wide-open Kentucky Derby, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first, as the winner at 12-1.
And since joining SportsLine in November, her picks have cashed in six of 11 races, including the exacta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Now, Yu has handicapped the 2022 Arkansas Derby horses, made her picks and constructed her bets. You can only see them here.
Top 2022 Arkansas Derby predictions
One surprise: Yu is high on Cyberknife, even though he is an 8-1 long shot. Trained by Brad Cox, winner of the 2021 Eclipse Award for best trainer, Cyberknife has two wins and two seconds in five career starts. He is coming off a victory in an allowance race on Feb. 19.
In that most recent race, Yu was impressed by how Cyberknife drew away from the field down the stretch, something he did not show in his previous start in the Lecomte Stakes. “I liked how he was moving with good energy in his most recent win, though he was still green,” Yu told SportsLine. Yu is using Cyberknife prominently in her 2022 Arkansas Derby betting strategy.
How to make 2022 Arkansas Derby picks
Yu’s top pick is a horse who has a “dynamic ability to slow and go.” She also is high on a long shot to make waves. She is including these horses in her 2022 Arkansas Derby predictions, and so should you. She’s sharing which horses to back only at SportsLine.
So who wins the Arkansas Derby 2022? What long shot is a must-back? And how has Yu constructed her wagers? Check out the latest Arkansas Derby odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Yu’s picks for the Arkansas Derby.
