Preakness 2016: Known Odds, Schedule and Nyquist Predictions

Early odds are in for the Preakness, and it's Nyquist against the field.

The colt's win at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday—his eighth victory in eight races—has trainer Doug O'Neill's horse at a whopping 5-7 favorite to win at Pimlico Race Course on May 21 in Baltimore. 

Exaggerator, who came in second behind Nyquist on Saturday, is second on the odds board at an impressive 9-2 runner-up.

Here's a look at the early odds and how Nyquist will fare as he marches on for the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Nyquist	5-7
Exaggerator	9-2
Stradivari	12-1
Gun Runner	14-1
Suddenbreakingnews	14-1
Destin	16-1
Mor Spirit	16-1
Creator	16-1
Outwork	20-1
Dazzling Gem	20-1
Collected	25-1
Cherry Wine	25-1
Swipe	25-1
Uncle Lino	33-1
Fellowship	33-1
Awesome Speed	33-1
Lani	33-1
Laoban	40-1

As of Monday, according to Mike Dempsey of Odds Shark, Exaggerator and Lani are the only early returns from Churchill Downs that will be racing in Baltimore other than Nyquist. Laoban and Cherry Wine did not run in the Derby but are scheduled to run at Pimlico.

No matter who runs, though, Nyquist should be leading the charge at the end of it.

While the 5-7 number is staggering, it's not as wide of a gap compared to American Pharoah last year. Bob Baffert's Triple Crown-winning horse was listed at 10-13 before the Preakness began last year, per Dempsey.

American Pharoah was dominant in his Triple Crown quest. The only concern among the Twitterverse is while Nyquist should win in less than two weeks, the Belmont Stakes will be the true test:

That's a discussion for a later date, but Amy Fadool Kane from CSN Philly brings up a good point. If Exaggerator made his charge a bit sooner, we might be talking about Exaggerator going for the Triple Crown, and Nyquist would be an afterthought.

In a crowded field like the Kentucky Derby, to have the top four favorites all finish in order is remarkable. Despite showing why they were considered favorites at the top, it was the overall favorite Nyquist beating the other three.

The theory on Nyquist should require the same approach as Floyd Mayweather. Never bet against Mayweather until he loses. The same should apply to horse racing. Until Nyquist finishes somewhere other than first place, he should be the favorite for the next month.

Jockey Mario Gutierrez should execute the same plan of attack he did Saturday. On a longer track than what Nyquist is used to, Gutierrez kept a constant, steady pace at the long stretches of the track before going all out down the home stretch. It also helped that Nyquist was in the top three for the majority of the race before Gutierrez made the charge.

Triple Crown winners are rare. Back-to-back Triple Crown winners are even rarer. Exaggerator would not have had the same amount of confidence from experts to win the Triple Crown compared to Nyquist.