Top pick: #9 (Spooky Channel) (5-1) - Joel Rosario rode Spooky Channel for the first time in March and won the Muniz Memorial Classic at this same 1 1/8-mile distance. The strategy was to settle in back of the leaders for the first six furlongs then turn it on. Spooky Channel competed perfectly, rallying wide on the turn. That's nothing new, either, as this horse has four first-place finishes in its last five races. That included a Sycamore Stakes victory at 1 1/2-miles.
2nd pick: #8 (Santin) (9-2) - Santin has only had one race in 2023, finishing fourth at the Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes. He stumbled on the synthetic surface at Turfway Park costing him any chance of winning. But getting back to the Churchill Downs turf will be a comfortable plus. In last year's Old Forester, Santin took first place and two starts later won the Arlington Million on the same course, both Grade 1 victories. Santin will be in the running while looking to be the first to repeat in this Turf Classic since 2016-17.
3rd pick: #4 (Steady On ) (5-1) - This horse has had an impressive seven months finishing first or second six times in seven races. Steady On won The Appleton Stakes four weeks ago settling in fourth behind a strong pace before tipping to the outside and overtaking Churchtown by a half-length. The distance will be a concern here as Steady On has ran three times over 1-mile and finished second in all three.