Preakness Start Time 2016: NBC TV Schedule, Live Stream Info and Picks

It may not seem fair to overlook Saturday’s Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, but recent history suggests this is the easiest leg on the way to horse-racing history.

According to John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times, 10 of the last 19 Kentucky Derby winners went on to claim victory at the Preakness and set themselves up for a Triple Crown chance at the Belmont Stakes.

Considering Nyquist has never lost and there is only one other horse who finished in the top five at Churchill Downs, Kentucky, in the Preakness field, expect the favorite to join that list Saturday.

With that in mind, here is a look at the broadcast information for the 141st Preakness Stakes, as well as the predicted finish and odds for all 11 horses. The odds are courtesy of OddsShark, as of Thursday at 5 p.m. ET.

141st Preakness Stakes Schedule

Date: Saturday, May 21

Post Time: 6:45 p.m. ET

TV: NBC 

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

Predicted Finish and Odds

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

Dark-Horse Contenders

Garry Jones/Associated Press

There is a reason Nyquist is the odds-on favorite. He is a perfect 8-0 in his career and counts victories at the Kentucky Derby, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Florida Derby on his resume. What’s more, he isn’t on the far outside or inside with the No. 3 starting gate and will have the chance to settle into a pace before a winning charge.

Trainer Doug O’Neill isn’t backing down from the pressure of following a Triple Crown performance last year, per NBC Sports (via Yahoo Sports): “I thought the American Pharoah camp did a wonderful job, and having a horse that thrived on it (the attention) helped. And I think Nyquist–they are big shoes to fill–has the ability to fill them if we were to get so fortunate and do what American Pharoah did last year.”

Nyquist is going to win the Preakness, but bettors looking for more favorable odds than that of the favorite will likely turn to dark-horse contenders on Saturday. For the purpose of this article, a contender was considered a dark horse if they were not among the top four favorites in the 11-horse field.

One thing that makes the dark horses enticing is the fact Nyquist’s biggest challenger on paper, Exaggerator, is 0-4 in head-to-head showdowns with the Kentucky Derby winner. Gun Runner and Mohaymen are also missing from the light field, so there are few places to turn outside of backing the favorite.

Don’t overlook Cherry Wine as a possible challenger. He doesn’t have a victory outside of maiden and allowance ranks, but he is gaining experience with his third straight start in stakes events.

He placed in the top four at Oaklawn Park, Arkansas, in March and the top three at Keeneland, Kentucky, in April, which were both respectable finishes leading up to the Preakness. He also has a solid pedigree as the son of Paddy O’Prado, who finished in third place in the Kentucky Derby in 2010.

Before the stakes races, Cherry Wine won at Churchill Downs and Gulfstream Park, Florida.

He did receive a difficult draw with the No. 1 gate because he will be reliant on a quick start. If he stumbles out of the blocks, other horses will trap him against the inside rail and essentially eliminate his chances at an upset victory.

At least Cherry Wine has an experienced jockey in Corey Lanerie, who is “approaching 4,000 career victories,” per Preakness.com, with “more than three dozen” coming in graded stakes events. He will understand he needs to push Cherry Wine hard out of the gates and attempt to establish inside position for the home stretch.

Elsewhere, Awesome Speed stands out as a potential dark horse. If his moniker is any indication, Nyquist and the rest of the field will be in some trouble Saturday.

Awesome Speed drew the No. 4 gate, so there is little concern of getting trapped inside like Cherry Wine or pushed too far outside on the turns. He has some momentum on his side after winning entry into the Preakness by capturing victory at the Federico Tesio Stakes on April 9.

He won four of his last five starts, including one at Gulfstream Park in January, and has three stakes triumphs on his resume.

Jockey Jevian Toledo is also riding a hot streak considering he “established career highs last year with 178 wins and more than $5.2 million in purse earnings,” per Preakness.com.

Mark Inabinett of AL.com said Awesome Speed has “early speed,” which could help him establish ideal position for the stretch run out of the gate, especially right next to Nyquist. Nyquist’s jockey, Mario Gutierrez, settled just off the pace for some time at the Kentucky Derby and then made a critical charge to the front, but Awesome Speed could beat him to the spot on Saturday.

Going with Awesome Speed may be a long shot, but the way Nyquist has started his career has essentially made every other contender in the field a dark horse.