Preakness 2016 Post Positions: Latest Odds, Historical Stats for Each Slot

The only thing that's changed in regard to the Preakness on Saturday is Nyquist's gap as the favorite.

The undefeated horse is a 4-7 favorite as of Thursday, a convincing favorite over Exaggerator. The Kentucky Derby runner-up is listed at 15-4. In short, it's a two-horse race.

Nyquist has the No. 3 draw in the 141st running of the Preakness in a much smaller field than what the colt ran in at Churchill Downs two weeks ago. Only 11 horses will be running in Baltimore, and Nyquist has a chance to inch closer to history.

Here are the odds.

Post Position	Times Won
1	11
2	12
3	12
4	13
5	11
6	16
7	13
8	10
9	4
10	2
11	2
12	3
13	1

Post Position	Horse	Odds
3	Nyquist	4-7
5	Exaggerator	15-4
11	Stradivari	8-1
7	Collected	16-1
1	Cherry Wine	25-1
2	Uncle Lino	33-1
4	Awesome Speed	33-1
10	Fellowship	33-1
9	Abiding Star	40-1
6	Lani	40-1
8	Laoban	40-1

A Look at the No. 3 Spot, Held by Nyquist

Post positions weren't consistently kept until 1909, according to Horse-Races.net. The middle of the pack has normally dominated, but that won't be the focus on Saturday.

The No. 3 gate that Nyquist will charge out of has seen historical success, but not as of late. The winner of the Preakness has come from the third post 12 times since 1913, with the latest being California Chrome two years ago.

But when California Chrome crossed the finish line in 2014, it was the first time since Prairie Bayou in 1993 that the winner came from the No. 3 gate. Compare that to the 1980s, when the No. 3 horse won four times.

Nyquist has a chance to become the fourth horse in the last five years to follow up a Derby win with a victory at the Preakness, per Mike Dempsey of Odds Shark, and trainer Doug O'Neill is happy with his horse's progress heading into this weekend.

"We're very happy," O'Neill said, per Claire Novak of Blood-Horse. "Nyquist had great energy and looked real loose, and he galloped really well. So we're very, very happy the way the morning went. [Friday's] going to be a very easy morning. We're feeling very optimistic about Saturday."

Seeing a 4-7 favorite is not an everyday occurrence. Being undefeated makes the target bigger and the odds staggering. The smaller field also has to help to some degree, and that'll bode well for Nyquist coming out of the No. 3 spot.

While the No. 3 gate hasn't been the dominant post in this race, Nyquist can change that with a win at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday.