Crude Velocity opens Saturday’s $750,000 Pat Day Mile as the 5-2 morning-line favorite at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., with the undefeated Bob Baffert trainee sharing the spotlight with Englishman in an 11-horse field. Post time for the race is 3:23 p.m. ET.
Crude Velocity and Englishman are both 2-for-2, but the market gave the edge to Baffert’s colt over Cherie DeVaux’s runner, who was listed at 3-1. Trouble Calling followed at 5-1, Crown the Buckeye at 6-1 and Creole Chrome at 8-1, a setup that leaves little room for error in a race that looks deep on paper and fast on form.
Michelle Yu, who has built a following through racing analysis for TVG, HRTV and the Breeders’ Cup, said the race offers “loads of talent.” Yu worked for trainers Steve Asmussen and Ron Moquett before her television career and is married to Santa Anita-based trainer Ryan Hanson, a background that has made her one of the sharper voices around the sport when a short-priced horse is trying to hold off a crowded field.
Her recent record helps explain why her opinion carries weight. Yu gave out Medina Spirit at 12-1 in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, suggested All Other 3-Year-Olds in Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager four years ago when it cashed at 18-1 with Rich Strike, and correctly went all-in on Citizen Bull to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes in 2025. She also predicted Forever Young’s win in the Saudi Cup, Journalism’s win in the San Felipe Stakes, Sandman’s win in the Arkansas Derby, Good Cheer’s win in the Kentucky Oaks and Mindframe’s win in the Churchill Downs Stakes.
More recently, Yu hit the exacta in the Kentucky Derby, the Fierceness-Journalism exacta in the Pacific Classic in August and the Renegade-Silent Tactic-Taptastic trifecta in the Arkansas Derby last month. That kind of run is why a possible start in the Preakness Stakes is already on the horizon for the undefeated contenders, and why Saturday’s Pat Day Mile is being watched as more than just another spring stakes. If Crude Velocity is as good as his 2-for-2 record suggests, the next stop could come fast.