Preakness Post Draw 2016: Start Time, Entry Lineup and TV Schedule

As the 141st Preakness Stakes approaches, it is easy to forget just how difficult winning Triple Crown races is supposed to be with a horse as dominant as Nyquist headlining the field.

After all, American Pharoah became the first to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in the same year (2015) since Affirmed did so in 1978. It may seem unrealistic to expect back-to-back Triple Crowns after horse racing fans waited 37 years between the last two, but Nyquist has never lost a race in eight tries.

What’s two more? 

While the Preakness is Saturday at Pimlico Race Course (post time is 6:45 p.m. ET), Nyquist and the rest of the field will discover their post positions on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET, according to the event's official website. The site also said the drawing will be streamed on DRF.com.

Saturday’s race can be viewed on NBC and streamed at NBC Sports Live Extra. Below is a list of the contenders who were included on the event's official website on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Horse	Owner	Trainer	Jockey
Nyquist	J. Paul Reddam	Doug O'Neill	Mario Gutierrez
Exaggerator	Big Chief Racing, Head of Plains Partners, Rocker O Ranch	Keith Desormeaux	Kent Desormeaux
Cherry Wine	William Pacella, Frank L. Jones Jr.	Dale Romans	Corey Lanerie
Laoban	McCormick Racing, Southern Equine Stable	Eric Guillot	Ricardo Santana Jr.
Collected	Speedway Stable	Bob Baffert	Javier Castellano
Fellowship	Jacks or Better Farm	Mark Casse	Jose Lezcano
Uncle Lino	Tom Mansor, Purple Shamrock Racing, Gary Sherlock	Gary Sherlock	Fernando Perez
Awesome Speed	Colts Neck Stables	Alan Goldberg	Jevian Toledo
Lani	Koji Maeda	Mikio Matsunaga	Yutaka Take
Stradivari	John Gunther, Michael Tabor, Derek Smith, Susan Magnier	Todd Pletcher	John Velazquez
Abiding Star	Stonehedge LLC	Ned Allar	J.D. Acosta

Predicted Winner: Nyquist

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

There may not be much recent historical precedent outside of American Pharoah suggesting Nyquist will win the Triple Crown, but parlaying a Kentucky Derby victory into triumph at the Preakness has become a trend.

John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times noted 10 of the 19 winners at Churchill Downs since 1997 also won the Preakness. Nyquist will add his name to the list.

One thing working in his favor is the reduction of risk at Wednesday’s post drawing. According to the Associated Press (via Fox Sports), there will likely only be 11 horses in Saturday’s field, compared to 20 at the Kentucky Derby.

The gate positioning will still be important, but the potential of drawing an outside gate is nowhere near as concerning as it was at Churchill Downs. There simply aren’t as many horses to overcome, and Nyquist already won from the No. 13 gate at the Kentucky Derby, which wouldn’t even be part of Saturday’s race.

Even though there will be fewer horses, Nyquist’s team still doesn’t want to draw the inside gate for fear of getting trapped against the rail. However, this horse has enough burst to overcome even that scenario with only 10 competitors to chase down.

Nyquist also doesn’t have to worry about Gun Runner, as the Associated Press (via Fox Sports) reported he will not run in the Preakness. Gun Runner finished in third place at the Kentucky Derby and has never placed worse than fourth in a single race. He counts a Louisiana Derby win as one of four victories and would have represented stiff competition for Nyquist.

Mohaymen will also miss the Preakness after a fourth-place finish at the Kentucky Derby. He started his career a perfect 5-0 and is another talented obstacle no longer in Nyquist’s way at Pimlico.

There is more to like about Nyquist than the lesser competition and the fact he is 8-0 with wins at the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Florida Derby to go along with his Kentucky Derby crown. He boasts impressive tactical speed that allows jockey Mario Gutierrez to seize the perfect moment to make a charge toward victory.

Cherwa recognized that when he said Nyquist “can go to the lead or set back in second or third just outside the leader waiting for him to tire.”

That type of versatility means a quick start is not an absolute necessity and gives Nyquist different avenues to win the race.

Once Nyquist does make that charge to the lead, don’t expect anyone to overtake him.

"If anybody watches Nyquist’s races, you will see that he will not allow any other horse past him," Gutierrez said, per Melissa Hoppert of the New York Times. "He’s the kind of horse that always has something left for whatever comes to him late."

The team of Gutierrez, trainer Doug O’Neill and owner Paul Reddam already turned a Kentucky Derby win into a Preakness title with I’ll Have Another in 2012. Look for the threesome to do it again on Saturday.