David Levitch spends his mornings at Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits, his dad's store, merchandising the new alcohol shipments. Then it's off to North Oldham High School, where he leads his players through off-season basketball workouts in the afternoons.

He gets some free time at night, but that's filled by watching horse workout videos online, reading the Beyer speed figures and accessing his mental database of past horse races. He uses those to make his picks, including for Saturday's Kentucky Derby.

"So far I like Game Winner. A couple long-shots like Spinoff and Country House. I think Tacitus has a chance to win," Levitch said last week. "I think there are four or five horses that have a legit chance to win, a couple long-shots, maybe, and then about 10 tosses."

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The Louisville basketball player turned alcohol merchandiser turned high school basketball coach added another hustle since he graduated in 2017 — horse handicapper.

He's used his familiarity in Louisville to promote his work, and now sells his picks, usually $8 a pop, on his website, TheHorseCapper.com. He hawked more than 600 sheets for Derby and Oaks last year.

"At first it was kind of just to see what it would do, and now it’s making it to the point where I’m making good money on it, so I kind of like it," Levitch said.

And his reputation is growing. He's been featured on the radio, thanks to Mike Rutherford, co-host of Ramsey & Rutherford on 790-KRD. He's posted his picks a handful of times on Horse Racing Nation. His Twitter account, @Paddock_Prince, where he shares of tidbits of advice and observations, has amassed close to 2,000 followers.

"He’s a very, very good handicapper," said close friend and trainer Norman Casse. "He watches races all day long. He knows more about what’s going on day-to-day racing than I do. He’s just so caught up in it, it’s amazing."

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Levitch first made a name for himself on the basketball court. He starred at North Oldham, where he caught the eye of Louisville coach Rick Pitino, whose camps Levitch attended as a kid. Pitino offered him a preferred walk-on spot.

At Louisville, Levitch earned the nickname "Baby-Faced Assassin" thanks to his prowess from the 3-point line. He turned his walk-on role into a one-year scholarship for the 2015-2016 season. He finished his career by making 44% (28-of-64) of his shots from deep range in 89 games (four starts).

That love for basketball was thanks to his dad, also named David, who played at Centre College and coached him as kid. He's also credited for introducing him to the horse-owning business, bringing him along as his horses competed across the country.

"Ever since I remember, I’ve been going to the track. My dad had a lot of good horses growing up, so we were all over the place, all different tracks," the younger David said, naming Saratoga in New York as his favorite, mostly because of its tradition.

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Levitch, himself, opted to explore a career in horse racing in the summer of 2016. His sports management major required an internship, so he reached out to Casse, whom he'd met on Twitter thanks to their mutual love of horse racing and college basketball. Levitch asked if he could shadow him.

"Although I was really proud and happy of him to call and ask, I was reluctant because here’s a guy that I looked up to — he played for Coach Pitino, he played for the Louisville Cardinals," Casse said. "I was a little nervous that I would be disappointed in him working for me but the complete opposite happened."

From May through August, Levitch experienced the odds and ends of working around the barn. He hot walked horses, learned the basics of grooming and followed Casse, who was then an assistant trainer for his dad, Mark, as one of their horses, Classic Empire, won in the Breeder's Cup. Levitch would arrive at the barn before Norm did at 5:15 a.m.

"I basically had to make him take days off," Casse said. "I was really just overwhelmed at how dedicated he was to the internship."

While Levitch enjoyed his internship, it wasn't enough to make him pursue training as a lifestyle. So the next summer after graduation he instead turned to his hobby, handicapping horses. He made recommendations based on techniques he learned from both his father but also from years of reading programs and watching races.

"My buddies just always asked me who I liked," Levitch said. "Finally I was like I’m going to try it because I had a little bit of a name around the city with horses and basketball. So I decided to give it a try and it slowly and slowly kept going on."

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His reputation with horses received a bump during his senior season in 2016-2017. Pitino, a long-time horse owner, joked in a TV interview that he was going to name a horse after him. ESPN analyst Dan Dakich went as far as calling him "the best horse handicapper in Louisville" during a broadcast.

That helped Levitch launch The Horse Capper, where he usually predicts picks for all races, as well as exactas and trifectas. He charges $50 for a full-meet membership, although those are now closed, and between $8 and $13 for sheets at major circuit tracks and $5 at non-major circuit tracks.

Levitch keeps his return on investment numbers but doesn't necessarily look at them. In fact, he often doesn't even watch most races, spending his time at Churchill Downs in the Turf Club with his family, at home playing pool, or at the golf course. He watches replays later.

"I don’t go to the track that much as you think, actually," said Levitch, who conceded that he hasn't missed a Derby since 2005.

One thing he does do is follow his own advice. And he stays strong when people get mad at him when he's incorrect.

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"A lot of people don’t understand that it’s not easy 'cause they are animals," he said. "I’ve gotten some emails. Those people never came back, but that’s fine with me."

Pitino hasn't named a horse after him, but the two would talk "all the time" about racing although those conversations tempered down after Pitino made his way overseas to coach in Greece.

"I went out to Del Mar (in California) last summer and had lunch with him," Levitch said.

Levitch's long-term goal is to get into the horse-owning industry, like his father. But he primarily wants to see where coaching takes him. He just wrapped up his first season as interim coach at his alma mater, located about five minutes from where he lives, essentially getting the job after applying at the suggestion of a friend. The interim tag was removed after the season.

"I didn’t really know how much I’d like coaching, but I do actually enjoy it. So hopefully coaching down the road takes me somewhere," said Levitch, who wants to be an NBA trainer or college coach.

Those in the horse-racing industry are convinced Levitch won't stay away.

"I still think he’s trying to find his niche in the horse-racing industry," Casse said. "And I think he’s actually going to be in the industry forever. He’s just so passionate about it."

Justin Sayers: 502-582-4252; jsayers@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @_JustinSayers. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/justins.