Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby by 1 ¼ lengths, and he's the 4/7 favourite to claim another victory on Saturday at the Pimlico Race Course. The post positions were revealed on Wednesday, so we know who his challengers are for the 141st running of the Preakness Stakes.
Chief among Nyquist’s competitors will be Exaggerator (15/4), who placed second in the Kentucky Derby. This will be Exaggerator's fifth race with his undefeated rival, but with every race, Exaggerator improves. He has been altering his running style, which has brought the colt more success. He’ll start in gate No. 5.
Frontrunners will have a good chance of making it to the finish line before running out of gas at the Preakness, and we'll see many of those runners on Saturday. That includes Uncle Lino (33/1), who is in gate No. 2, and Awesome Speed (33/1), who will start in gate No. 4. Bob Baffert’s Collected (16/1) won the Lexington Stakes and will start from gate No. 7, and Stradivari (8/1) won two straight races and is the third-favourite to win the Preakness. He didn't race in the Derby, so he'll be fresh and rested.
Another Preakness competitor who raced in the Kentucky Derby is Lani, who placed ninth. He faces long odds as a closer in a fast field on a short track, but maybe he’ll show better than he did at Churchill Downs. Some of the other longshots include Cherry Wine (25/1), Laoban (40/1), Abiding Star (40/1) and Fellowship (40/1).
At 1 3/16 miles, the Preakness Stakes is a comparatively short race. Nyquist ran with the leaders in the Kentucky Derby – a longer race – and then kicked it into high gear before dusting the field. Theoretically, it should be easier for him on a shorter field. However, these things don’t always play out as expected. It looks like there will be a significant chance of rain on Saturday, which could make for a muddy track. Exaggerator has run well on mud before – navigating sloppy conditions at the Santa Anita Derby (G1), but so has Nyquist, who won the Florida Derby (G1) despite damp conditions. It should make for an intriguing day of racing.
Tune in to NBC at 6:45 PM ET on Saturday to find out who’ll win the 2016 Preakness Stakes.
|
Post |
Horse |
Jockey |
Odds |
|
1 |
Cherry Wine |
C. Lanarie |
|
|
2 |
Uncle Lino |
F. Perez |
|
|
3 |
Nyquist |
M. Gutierrez |
|
|
4 |
Awesome Speed |
J. Toledo |
|
|
5 |
Exaggerator |
K. Desormeaux |
|
|
6 |
Lani |
Y. Take |
|
|
7 |
Collected |
J. Castellano |
|
|
8 |
Laoban |
F. Geroux |
|
|
9 |
Abiding Star |
J. Acosta |
|
|
10 |
Fellowship |
J. Lezcano |
|
|
11 |
Stradivari |
J. Velazquez |