Kentucky Derby 2016 Horses: Odds, Projected Payouts and More

Horse racing heads into the 2016 Kentucky Derby riding a wave of momentum after the memorable 2015 campaign put together by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. Now the question is whether there's a horse capable of picking up where he left off.

Nyquist has emerged as the most promising candidate. The dominant colt—so far—has won all seven of his career starts, including four Grade 1 stakes races, to establish himself as the clear favorite ahead of the Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports at Churchill Downs.

With that in mind, let's check out the entire field and the odds for the year's first Triple Crown race. That's followed by a look at the payouts and a preview of Saturday's marquee event.

2016 Kentucky Derby Field and Odds

Post	Horse	Jockey	Odds
1	Trojan Nation	Aaron Gryder	+6600
2	Suddenbreakingnews	Luis Quinonez	+2000
3	Creator	Ricardo Santana Jr.	+1200
4	Mo Tom	Corey Lanerie	+2200
5	Gun Runner	Florent Geroux	+900
6	My Man Sam	Irad Ortiz Jr.	+2000
7	Oscar Nominated	Julien Leparoux	+6600
8	Lani	Yutaka Take	+2800
9	Destin	Javier Castellano	+1400
10	Whitmore	Victor Espinoza	+1800
11	Exaggerator	Kent Desormeaux	+750
12	Tom's Ready	Brian Hernandez Jr.	+4000
13	Nyquist	Mario Gutierrez	+300
14	Mohaymen	Junior Alvarado	+800
15	Outwork	John Velazquez	+1600
16	Shagaf	Joel Rosario	+2800
17	Mor Spirit	Gary Stevens	+1400
18	Majesto	Emisael Jaramillo	+3300
19	Brody's Cause	Luis Saez	+1400
20	Danzing Candy	Mike E. Smith	+2000

Projected Payouts

Finish	Earnings
Guaranteed Purse	$2,000,000
1st	$1,240,000
2nd	$400,000
3rd	$200,000
4th	$100,000
5th	$60,000

Race Preview

All signs to this point suggest Nyquist is a special talent. He's gone up against top-level competition in almost every race he's run and still rarely been challenged along the road to the Kentucky Derby. His most recent triumph in the Grade 1 Florida Derby in April solidified him as Saturday's favorite.

There are always uncertainties, such as how Triple Crown hopefuls will handle the 20-horse field or how they will react to the massive crowd inside Churchill Downs. That's why there are no guarantees in the Derby, regardless of how a horse has performed previously.

That said, it's going to take an off day from Nyquist or a special effort from one of the other horses to keep him out of the winner's circle.

Trainer Doug O'Neill told John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times about the one scenario that could cause some trouble for the favorite.

"If he engages you, he's going to be tough to beat," O'Neill said. "The one thing I think could beat Nyquist is if he's on a lead and someone [he can't see] is flying five wide outside."

The reason those comments are especially important this year is because it's a deep group of three-year-old contenders. At least on the surface, it appears Nyquist's journey to a Triple Crown will be more difficult than the one American Pharoah navigated.

Among those looking to take down the hyped favorite is Gun Runner. He finished with the most points during the Kentucky Derby prep schedule, highlighted by wins in the Louisiana Derby and Risen Star Stakes. All told, he's won four of five career starts.

The one he didn't win is a cause for concern, though. He finished fourth in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes against a rock-solid Grade 2 field at Churchill Downs last November. Now he returns to the track after some time at Fair Grounds Race Course to face an even tougher group of opponents.

It's worth noting he did break his maiden at Churchill Downs, albeit against lesser foes. And he's looked smooth on the track during the buildup, as Three Chimneys Farm showcased:

Then there's Mohaymen. He'd won five consecutive races to open his career before a high-profile meeting with Nyquist in the Florida Derby last month. He ended up finishing fourth, which has dropped him off the radar a bit heading into the first Triple Crown race.

His prior success shouldn't be ignored, though. He won four straight Grade 2 races before the setback in the Florida Derby, so it wouldn't be the least bit surprising to see a strong bounce-back performance that gets him into the mix Saturday.

Jay Privman of the Daily Racing Form expects an aggressive run from Mohaymen:

Exaggerator is another colt who figures to receive plenty of action. With nine starts on his resume, he's raced more heavily than most of his counterparts. But his performance has been up and down, which makes forecasting his Derby effort more tricky.

He's coming off a victory in the Santa Anita Derby last month to put himself firmly in the Kentucky Derby conversation. He won just a single race over his prior five starts, though. That includes two graded stakes races that featured Nyquist.

So if everything falls perfectly into place, he'll have a chance. But it's hard to count on him putting it all together given the numerous variables in play. The Courier-Journal's Derby News feed noted his connections have tried to take at least one of those away:

Ultimately, this is a rare Derby that features both a clear favorite and a lot of depth. Most years it's one or the other. It creates an extra layer of intrigue because Nyquist will have a limited margin for error, particularly early in the race when it's usually chaos out of the gate.

He's the horse to beat, but he may have to yield that distinction to another horse for the Preakness Stakes on May 21 if he doesn't enjoy a clean ride Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Predicted Top Finishers

Win: Nyquist

Place: Mohaymen

Show: Destin