Preakness 2016: Early Contenders to Watch on Nyquist's Triple Crown Bid

Nyquist lived up to the hype Saturday to win the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby as the pre-race favorite, but now the pressure rises on his team with the second leg of the Triple Crown looming May 21 at the Preakness Stakes.

There is no reason to believe Nyquist will not be the oddsmakers' choice in less than two weeks. Trainer Doug O'Neill's horse is a perfect 8-0 in his career and is coming off a blistering time of two minutes, one second at Churchill Downs. American Pharoah, who completed the Triple Crown last year, won the Derby with a time of 2:03.

Although the 2016 field at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore is not yet official, there are a few horses expected to compete that could dash Nyquist's hopes of becoming only the second horse to complete a back-to-back Triple Crown run since Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978.

Exaggerator

After an impressive finish in the Derby where he finished second and gave Nyquist a slight run for his money, Exaggerator is an obvious contender to watch heading into the Preakness. According to Jonathan Lintner of the Courier-Journal, Exaggerator is anticipated to run in the upcoming race.

As Blood-Horse's Jeremy Balan noted, Exaggerator was impressive Saturday and showed some serious make-up speed:

He came flying down the final stretch, and if the race had perhaps been an extra furlong more, he may have caught Nyquist.

Exaggerator, who entered the race with the second-best odds, per OddsShark.com, will need to come on much earlier in the Preakness as opposed to the Derby. Nyquist has led coming down the stretch in each of his last seven races, according to AL.com's Mark Inabinett.

Considering the Preakness is 1/16 of a mile shorter than the Kentucky Derby, Exaggerator cannot afford to make another late run if he wants to dethrone the favorite.

Collected

Bob Baffert knows a thing or two about training winning horses. After all, he trained American Pharoah to a Triple Crown in 2015.

Having been a three-times stakes winner, including the Lexington Stakes, Collected seems to be Baffert's most potent horse, and he is expected to run in the Preakness, according to Daily Racing Form's Jay Privman (via ESPN.com).

Despite missing the Kentucky Derby, Collected should be set to be challenge Nyquist at the Preakness. He appears to be a legitimate threat to the Triple Crown hopeful in the eyes of Daily Racing Form's Mike Welsch:

Collected won the Lexington Stakes by four lengths and led for most of the race due to his quick speed out of the gate, according to Horse Racing Nation. If he receives a favorable post position, he could battle with Nyquist down the stretch at the Preakness.

Stradivari

Another horse who did not participate in the Kentucky Derby, Stradivari is an unproven sleeper who could surprise at the Preakness, in which Albany Times Union's horse racing writer Tim Wilkin expects the horse to take part:

Stradivari does not have a ton of racing experience, but he thoroughly impressed in his last outing. According to Lintner, he blew away the field at the Keeneland track during the April race, winning by 14 ½ lengths. As he crossed the finish line, there was not a horse to be found near him, per TVG:

The competition at Keeneland is not near the quality of what will take the track at the Preakness, but it is apparent that Stradivari has talent. He is another horse who could make some noise with an advantageous starting position.