Preakness 2016: Projected Prize Money Earnings, Order of Finish and More
Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist is the favourite to win the second leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday, as a field of 11 horses will contest the 2016 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Racecourse, Baltimore.
With $1.5 million in prize money on offer and a second Triple Crown bid in two years on the line, the colt faces some real pressure to emulate American Pharoah's run in 2015 and keep his perfect record alive.
Here's a look at the purse breakdown, courtesy of the Triple Crown's official website:
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| 1 | 60 | $900,000 |
| 2 | 20 | $300,000 |
| 3 | 11 | $165,000 |
| 4 | 6 | $90,000 |
| 5 | 3 | $45,000 |
The projected order of finish:
| Winner | Nyquist |
| Second | Exaggerated |
| Third | Stradivari |
| Fourth | Collected |
| Fifth | Lani |
Preview
Unbeaten Nyquist enters this year's Preakness Stakes as the clear favourite and one of just three horses to have raced in the Kentucky Derby, the others being Exaggerator and Lani.
Exaggerator finished second at Churchill Downs, Kentucky, and is regarded as Nyquist's top competitor for the Preakness, but per David Ginsburg of the Associated Press, even trainer Bob Baffert, who will saddle Collected, doesn't think Nyquist will be beat: "I'd probably be surprised if he didn't win. He's going to be tough to beat."
Nyquist will start from the three-hole, the same from which California Chrome raced to victory in 2014, while Exaggerator will be two stalls on his right. Wild-card Lani will start on his right, and Stradivari, who many see as a prime candidate to cause an upset, will start from the outside.
Stradivari is a relative unknown, but he looked mightily impressive in his last two races, winning by a combined 25 3/4 lengths, per Nicole Russo of Daily Racing Form.
As you can see in this video, he glides almost effortlessly over the track:
Punters will be hoping the newcomer will be able to pull off an upset for the ages, as virtually all pundits are in agreement the two top horses in this race are in a class of their own. Exaggerator and Nyquist were easily the cream of the crop at Churchill Downs, and the same is expected at Pimlico.
The former started making up ground in the final stretch during the Kentucky Derby but ran out of dirt, and per Pia Catton of the Wall Street Journal, it marked the fourth time he has lost to Nyquist.
Trainer Keith Desormeaux didn't sound too optimistic about his chances: “If he knows anything about Nyquist, it’s the rear view.”
Recent history also suggests Nyquist should win the Preakness. Since 2012, American Pharoah, California Chrome and I’ll Have Another have all followed up a win at Churchill Downs with the same result at Pimlico.
The weather may be a factor, as Exaggerator will have one major advantage if the rain turns the track into mud as predicted, via Mark Singelais of the Times Union:
Exaggerator has run on mud and has done so well, but there's no reason to assume Nyquist won't find success on the mud, either.
Nyquist remains the safe bet ahead of Exaggerator, while Collected, Lani and Stradivari are worth a gamble for the more adventurous punters hoping for a upset.
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