Preakness TV Schedule 2015: NBC TV Info, Start Time and Race Live Stream

Suffering from a bad case of middle child syndrome, the Preakness Stakes continues to receive the cold shoulder.

Only eight horses will compete in the Triple Crown's second leg, with many resting from the Kentucky Derby and/or saving energy for the upcoming Belmont Stakes. For several trainers who fell short at Churchill Downs, The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans serves as a strategical sacrifice rather than a major race.

That bodes well for trainer Bob Baffert, who will send out American Pharoah to keep the Triple Crown dream alive. Oddly enough, he also may cause the colt's undoing by entering Dortmund into the fold at the same time.

The duo enter the weekend as the top two favorites, but neither drew an ideal post position.

Post	Horse	Odds	Trainer	Jockey
1	American Pharoah	10-13	Bob Baffert	Victor Espinoza
2	Dortmund	17-4	Bob Baffert	Martin Garcia
3	Mr. Z	33-1	D. Wayne Lukas	Corey Nakatani
4	Danzig Moon	20-1	Mark Casse	Julien Leparoux
5	Tale of Verve	50-1	Dallas Stewart	Joel Rosario
6	Bodhisattva	50-1	Jose Corrales	Trevor McCarthy
7	Divining Rod	20-1	Arnaud Delacour	Javier Castellano
8	Firing Line	17-4	Simon Callaghan	Gary Stevens

All odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

Preakness Stakes Viewing Info

Date: Saturday, May 16 

TV: 4:30-6:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

Start Time: 6:18 p.m. ET

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

Overview

The odds peg this as a three-horse race between the Kentucky Derby's top-three finishers. Heading into Pimlico, all eyes are on American Pharoah, Dortmund and Firing Line contesting for the victory.

Can any of the five other horses crash the party? Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who enters Mr. Z from the No. 3 gate, told The Baltimore Sun's Jon Meoli that most of the field runs in a similar fashion, which could create some volatility:

"

One of the things that compromises everybody in this race, other than maybe two horses is that the style of five or six of these horses is really the same. You could see all of these horses coming together, and it might get into a trip race — who gets the best trip? — and it might get into a jockey’s race — who’s smart enough to know we’re going too fast, too slow, or where will I be? That could very well shake out here.

"

For those searching for a top spoiler, Divining Rod tops the list. Last seen winning the Coolmore Lexington Stakes on April 11, he is well-rested compared to the heavy favorites. Due to Todd Pletcher preserving all four of his possible entrants, trainer Arnaud Delacour was able to recruit a renowned jockey to saddle his horse, per the Daily Racing Form's David Grening:

Javier Castellano, 37, ranks No. 12 in all-time jockey earnings, per Equibase. He has procured top-three finishes in 49 percent of his starts, leading Bernardini to a Preakness victory in 2006 along with guiding Commissioner to second at last year's Belmont Stakes.

Although Divining Rod has yet to race a Grade 1 event, he also hasn't finished below third in five career starts. Churchill Downs' 10-furlong track would have proved to be a lengthy leap, but Preakness is the shortest (9.5 furlongs) of the Triple Crown courses.

Ellis Starr of America's Best Racing (via Fox Sports) compared Divining Rod's last victory to American Pharoah's Kentucky Derby triumph:

"

Divining Rod has done little wrong in five career starts, four on dirt, winning two of those and finishing second and third in the other two dirt races. His best career effort came in his most recent race, the Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland last month, with a 105 Equibase Speed Figure. In that race, Divining Rod showed a lot of maturity in relaxing in third in the early stages. Racing on the inside for the first three-quarters of a mile, Divining Rod came out to the three path and drove past the leaders with little encouragement from his jockey, accelerating to a three-length win. That's the same kind of trip American Pharoah got in his Derby win.

"

Danzig Moon also looms as a threat, but he finished. Despite finishing a distant fifth at the Run for the Roses, he was an afterthought going into Churchill Downs before he "trained like a monster," according to the Daily Racing Form's Nicole Russo. 

Not a locale ripe for upsets, nine of the last 18 Kentucky Derby winners have doubled down with a Preakness victory. Pletcher leads the charge on trainers conceding the second leg to focus on Belmont, undermining the Pimlico field.

This is a case of the favorites being favored for a reason, but the list of contenders is short enough for someone to sneak into a top finish.