A prominent horse racing insider believes that not only will 2025 Kentucky Derby favorite Journalism win Saturday’s event, but the colt will dominate the field.
Heading into this week’s race, Michael W. McCarthy-trained three-year-old Journalism is a big favorite (3-1) to win the first leg of this year’s Triple Crown. However, racing fans have seen many strong horses disappoint in the “Run for the Roses.” Well, Steve Byk — host of SiriusXM’s “At The Races” — has little doubt the horse will be victorious this Saturday, and it won’t even be close.
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“On the backstretch, probably approaching the turn based on the pace, he’ll make a run. And he should reach the front at the top of the stretch,” Byk told Sportsnaut. “And I think he’ll run away from this group. Honestly, I think he’ll blow this race apart.”
“… Journalism’s winning this race. And something would have to go monumentally wrong for him not to win. He’s the best horse coming in, and there is not a thing to dissuade you from believing in that.”
Steve Byk on Kentucky Derby favorite Journalism: ‘He’s, frankly, an intimidating horse’
That is quite a strong statement. However, Byk has covered the legendary race for the last 25 years, so he knows what it takes to win the 1 1/4 long duel. And in his mind, Journalism has the track record that backs up his boast. Furthermore, the race favorite reminds him of another Kentucky Derby winner, 2006 champ Barbaro. A horse that won the Derby by six and a half lengths.
“Journalism comes into this with a body of work that is instantly recognizable as being the best of these three-year-olds,” he said. “He’s the fastest coming in. He’s got a style that is very conducive to the way this race is going to unfold. Physically, he’s a dominant presence. He’s, frankly, an intimidating horse. And he really comes into this, by my way of thinking, a lot like Barbaro did when he won.”
“I’ve got the exact same feeling with Journalism. He can adapt to the pace. The eight hole is perfect for him because there’s speed to his inside.”
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