2016 Preakness Horses: Ranking Every Contender at Pimlico
Excitement is building for the 141st running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday as Nyquist seeks to keep his Triple Crown bid alive after an impressive victory in the Kentucky Derby.
We had to wait 37 years for American Pharoah to end the long drought between Triple Crown winners, and now Nyquist looks poised to become the 13th in history to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
The next step is conquering his foes at Pimlico Race Course, so let's rank all of the contenders for this year's Preakness.
The rankings are based on past races, connections, Beyer Speed Figures and pedigree, as Mother Nature could play a part. The rankings are not meant to predict the actual order of finish, but to evaluate each contender's ability.
10. Laoban
1 of 10Race Record: 5-0-2-1 ($151,250)
Last Race: Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (fourth)
Can a maiden actually win the Preakness?
The colt has made five career starts and has not tasted victory to date, losing a couple of starts against maidens in Southern California before taking on stakes company.
The Eric Guillot trainee actually gave a good account of himself by running third in the Sham Stakes, second in the Gotham Stakes and then setting the early fractions in the Toyota Blue Grass but weakening in the stretch to finish fourth.
"He's a solid horse," Guillot said, per BloodHorse.com. "He's getting better. If you look at the Blue Grass, he ran a lot better visually than he did on paper. Everything was coming from the clouds that day. The horses came from 14th, 13th and 11th to beat me."
Laoban landed on the also-eligible list for the Kentucky Derby but did not get into the field, but he shows up in Baltimore as one of the long shots in the field at 40-1 odds, per Odds Shark.
9. Lani
2 of 10
Race Record: 7-3-1-0 ($1,366,618)
Last Race: Kentucky Derby (ninth)
Lani earned his ticket to the Run for the Roses by winning the UAE Derby and had to travel halfway around the world to compete in the first jewel of the Triple Crown.
The colt had some trouble at Churchill Downs. He got off a bit slow and was bumped by a foe, which forced him out wide coming into the stretch. He checked in ninth at 10 ¾ lengths behind the top spot.
A cleaner trip could get this colt closer, but he really has shown no indication he could win this race—his UAE Derby victory was over a suspect field.
Currently at 40-1 odds, Lani will be one of the long shots, and runners going off at such long odds have fared poorly in the Preakness.
8. Fellowship
3 of 10
Race Record: 12-2-3-3 ($574,715)
Last Race: Pat Day Mile (fourth)
This colt is the most experienced runner in the field with a dozen career starts, but he has only won twice and not since last October.
Fellowship did mix it up in the three Kentucky Derby preps in Florida, as he ran third in the Holy Bull Stakes, Fountain of Youth Stakes and Florida Derby.
He made his first start since landing in the Mark Casse barn in his fourth-place finish in the Pat Day Mile, which was contested on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
Currently at early betting odds of 33-1, the colt is a cut below the major contenders in the race.
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7. Awesome Speed
4 of 10Race Record: 6-4-0-0 ($223,660)
Last Race: Federico Tesio (won)
Awesome Speed fell short of first by just a nose in the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park but wound up placing first thanks to a disqualification of the winner, Governor Malibu, who caused interference in the deep stretch.
The Alan Goldberg trainee was a nonthreatening fourth in the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park in his lone Road to the Kentucky Derby points race.
He is going to have to improve mightily off his last outing to mix it up with the likes of Nyquist, but he does have a solid off-track pedigree and is to go off at a generous price—he's currently 33-1 odds.
6. Uncle Lino
5 of 10
Race Record: 7-2-2-2 ($316,160)
Last Race: California Chrome Stakes (won)
This colt is coming off a win in the California Chrome Stakes at Los Alamitos Race Course after coming up short in three Derby points races in his previous starts.
In the Santa Anita Derby in the slop, he prompted the early pace and had the lead in the stretch, but he could not hold off Exaggerator and Mor Spirit and had to settle for third.
Uncle Lino's best finish in a graded stake was his runner-up finish to Mor Spirit in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes in February.
His tactical speed will come in handy at Pimlico, and he has shown he can run over a wet track. He also has an extra week of rest over those coming off a run in the Kentucky Derby.
5. Cherry Wine
6 of 10
Race Record: 8-2-1-2 ($218,878)
Last Race: Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (third)
The Dale Romans trainee was one of two also-eligibles for the Kentucky Derby but did not draw in, as he came up just short in the Road to the Kentucky Derby points standings.
It took the colt five tries to break his maiden, but he then turned around to beat optional claimers impressively in his first start against winners.
Cherry Wine went into stakes company and landed fourth in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, and he made a good late run to finish third in the Toyota Blue Grass in his last start.
He looks headed in the right direction for Romans, who saddled 2011 Preakness winner Shackleford in a 12-1 upset victory. Odds Shark currently lists Cherry Wine at 25-1 odds in early Preakness betting.
4. Collected
7 of 10
Race Record: 6-4-1-0 ($433,700)
Last Race: Lexington Stakes (won)
A winner of four of his six career starts, Collected won the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland in his last outing by four lengths in an impressive outing.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will saddle him. Baffert has won the Preakness six times, including last year with American Pharoah.
Collected's lone loss this year was a fourth in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. His running style suits the Pimlico track, and having Baffert calling the shots is a big bonus.
"He's fast," Baffert said, per the Maryland Jockey Club publicity department. "He's won on turf and dirt, which makes him an exceptional horse. The only bad race he had was in the Southwest, where he got away slow. He never got engaged and just ran fourth."
3. Stradivari
8 of 10
Race Record: 3-2-0-0 ($64,200)
Last Race: Allowance (won)
Seven-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, who is seeking this Preakness victory with his eighth starter, will send out a dangerous lightly raced colt in Stradivari.
The colt will be making his stakes debut, but he is coming off a pair of impressive wins—a win in his second career start followed by a 14 ½-length win against first-level allowance company.
His Beyer Speed Figure of 100 in his last start is competitive, as Nyquist earned a 103 for his Kentucky Derby win.
The last Preakness winner that did not compete in the Kentucky Derby was Rachel Alexandra in 2009. She won the Kentucky Oaks in her previous outing.
2. Exaggerator
9 of 10
Race Record: 10-4-3-1 ($2,071,120)
Last Race: Kentucky Derby (second)
The late-running son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin has landed in the exacta in seven of his career starts, but his rally came up 1 ¼ lengths short in the Kentucky Derby.
The colt was coming off his career-best effort in winning the Santa Anita Derby in his previous outing, which was in the slop.
Exaggerator has won just once in his four starts this year, but he ran well in each, and the possibility of another wet track Saturday improves his chances.
He is the biggest threat to the Derby winner and is the current second choice in the early Preakness wagering at 15-4 odds.
1. Nyquist
10 of 10
Race Record: 8-8-0-0 ($4,954,200)
Last Race: Kentucky Derby (won)
Any questions about whether Nyquist could handle the 1 ¼-mile distance of the Kentucky Derby were answered with an emphatic victory on the first Saturday of May. The colt remains perfect in eight career starts.
"We've been blessed with a lot of good horses, but he's by far the best horse we've ever had," Nyquist's trainer, Doug O'Neill, told BloodHorse.com. "He's got a lot of energy, and you see it in the afternoon when he competes."
The son of Uncle Mo has now won five Grade 1 races at five different race tracks, and he will be the prohibitive favorite to keep the ball rolling Saturday, as his current Preakness odds stand at 4-7.
He is also proven over an off track, which we might see Saturday. The colt won the Florida Derby (G1) over a wet surface rated as good.
Betting odds via Odds Shark. Statistics from Equibase.
Follow Michael Dempsey on Twitter @turfnsport.
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