Top horses three years old and older will run in the 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes on Saturday at Churchill Downs. Mystik Dan has dominated his Churchill Downs starts, winning three of four career races at the famed track, including the 2024 Kentucky Derby. He also won the Blame Stakes on May 31 in his first run at Churchill Downs since winning the Run for the Roses a year ago. However, Mystik Dan isn’t the favorite to win the Stephen Foster Stakes 2025, instead, having the second-lowest odds at 3-1.
Sierra Leone, who finished second in the 2024 Kentucky Derby and won the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic, is the 5-2 favorite in the latest 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes odds. Mindframe follows at 7-2, with First Mission at 4-1 to round out the top four choices among the seven horses in the 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes field. Post time for the Stephen Foster Stakes 2025 is 6:03 p.m. ET. Before locking in any 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes bets, you’ll want to see what longtime horse racing guru Jeff Hochman has to say.
Hochman’s knowledge in horse racing is second to none, having grown up into the sport. He covered horse racing for Picks PAL from 2005 to 2007 and specializes in graded stakes races. Hochman has shown a profit in 22 of the past 38 Triple Crown races. One example of his best picks was Big Brown in the 2008 Kentucky Derby. More recently, he swept the 2022 Triple Crown, capped off by Mo Donegal’s easy win in the Belmont Stakes. In 2023, he cashed the Preakness with National Treasure.
Now, with the 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes post positions set and odds on the board, Hochman is sharing his 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes betting picks and 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes predictions over at SportsLine. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes predictions
One surprise: Hochman is fading Sierra Leone, even though he’s the 5-2 favorite. Although Sierra Leone won the Breeders’ Cup Classic, that was his only victory over the last six races. Sierra Leone finished second to Mystik Dan at the Kentucky Derby and then third at the Belmont Stakes, despite taking off as the favorite in both starts. He’s lost four straight races as the favorite and he’s been favored in four of his last five competitions, winning zero of the five. His only win during that span, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, came with Sierra Leone at 12-1 odds as he’s struggled to perform to expectations as the favorite.
Trainer Chad Brown has never won a Stephen Foster Stakes race, and he hasn’t even had a horse in the Stephen Foster Stakes field since 2018, so he doesn’t have vast experience in preparing for this race. Sierra Leone has been in this favorite position and failed far too often since last year’s Kentucky Derby for Hochman to trust him as the favorite in 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes bets. See which other 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes horses to back at SportsLine.
How to make 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes picks
To win, Hochman is high on a horse who “looks dangerous in this race.” He is including this horse in his 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes bets, and so should you. He’s sharing which 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes horses to back at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2025 Stephen Foster Stakes, and which “dangerous” horse is a must-back? Visit SportsLine to see Hochman’s picks for the Stephen Foster Stakes from the expert who has nailed Triple Crown races, and find out.
2025 Stephen Foster Stakes, post positions
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