Kentucky Derby Start Time 2016: Post Info, TV Schedule and Live Stream Coverage

Nyquist's quest to begin a Triple Crown journey is just over 24 hours away. All the horses have been in stables for days, trainers and jockeys have been hanging out all week and fans should begin arriving at any minute.

Nyquist enters as a 3-1 favorite. That's a number that's right on par with where American Pharoah was a year ago. It's also representative of how dominant Nyquist has been so far in his career.

The Doug O'Neill-trained horse has won each of the seven races he's participated in. He defeated second-favorite Exaggerator in the San Vicente Stakes and third favorite Mohaymen in the Florida Derby. 

Yet it's fair to wonder if Nyquist's dominance is getting a fair national shake. American Pharoah ended the longest Triple Crown drought in history last year. It was a historic run, something that was generations in the making. So many had come so close and fallen short that it was fair to wonder if the Triple Crown was ever going to happen.

Now that it has, horse racing is left with a simple question: What happens next? The answer doesn't appear so clear. 

Post No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Morning-Line Odds
1	Trojan Nation	Patrick Gallagher	Aaron T. Gryder	+6600
2	Suddenbreakingnews	Donnie K. Von Hemel	Luis Quinonez	+2000
3	Creator	Steven M. Asmussen	Ricardo Santana Jr.	+1200
4	Mo Tom	Thomas M. Amoss	Corey J. Lanerie	+2200
5	Gun Runner	Steven M. Asmussen	Florent Geroux	+900
6	My Man Sam	Chad C. Brown	Irad Ortiz Jr.	+2000
7	Oscar Nominated	Michael J. Maker	Julien R. Leparoux	+6600
8	Lani	Mikio Matsunaga	Yutaka Take	+2800
9	Destin	Todd A. Pletcher	Javier Castellano	+1400
10	Whitmore	Ron Moquett	Victor Espinoza	+1800
11	Exaggerator	J. Keith Desormeaux	Kent J. Desormeaux	+750
12	Tom's Ready	Dallas Stewart	Brian Hernandez Jr.	+4000
13	Nyquist	Doug F. O'Neill	Mario Gutierrez	+300
14	Mohaymen	Kiaran P. McLaughlin	Junior Alvarado	+800
15	Outwork	Todd A. Pletcher	John R. Velazquez	+1600
16	Shagaf	Chad C. Brown	Joel Rosario	+2800
17	Mor Spirit	Bob Baffert	Gary L. Stevens	+1400
18	Majesto	Gustavo Delgado	Javier Castellano	+3300
19	Brody's Cause	Dale L. Romans	Luis Saez	+1400
20	Danzing Candy	Clifford W. Sise Jr.	Mike E. Smith	+2000

Date	Start Time	TV Coverage	Stream
Saturday, May 7	6:44 p.m.	NBCSN (12-4 p.m.), NBC ( 4-7:30 p.m.)	NBC Sports Live Extra

“He really doesn’t have the same media buzz,” said trainer Dale Romans, per Dan Wolken of USA Today. “Any undefeated 2-year-old champion coming into the Derby is the horse to beat. You’ve got to give it to him. There’s some question marks with him probably, but you can’t knock his record. He finds a way to win, and winners, whether it’s human or racehorses, have that intangible. They just win.”

If Pharoah is the Michael Jordan of this era, it appears O'Neill already has an apt comparison. 

"What makes Kobe Bryant so much better than everyone else is he brings it to every practice, every workout," O'Neill said, per John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times. "He would persevere throughout. Nyquist has days when he doesn't feel like training, but he brings it. He's got a great work ethic. He's competitive to the highest quality."

Exaggerator and Mohaymen nonetheless enter Saturday's race as highly competitive co-favorites. Exaggerator is coming off a dominant win at the Santa Anita Derby, winning by 6 1/4 lengths. He overwhelmed Mor Spirit, another sleeper contender this Saturday.

Mohaymen, meanwhile, might be the most underrated horse in the field. The colt was victorious in his first five races before a fourth-place outing in the Florida Derby. While some have used that as an opportunity to write him off, Mohaymen's stable thinks otherwise.

“(Mohaymen) has had a bad 1:49 his whole life,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said, per Tim Wilkin of the Houston Chronicle. “That’s it. He has never missed a day of training. He is a great mover. And he will run in the afternoon.”

The field also features racing royalty. Bob Baffert, a year removed from a Triple Crown, is backing Mor Spirit. Todd Pletcher has Destin and Outwork, both boasting his training expertise. Reigning two-time champion Victor Espinoza will be riding Whitmore.

Notice none of those names are attached with our three favorites. This field ranks among the best in recent memory. Despite a bit of hype lacking from the Road to the Roses, Saturday's race is shaping up to be one of the best.