Preakness 2016 Post Positions: Horse Odds, Prize-Money Predictions and More

On the second leg of the Triple Crown, Nyquist will run the 2016 Preakness Stakes from the No. 3 post position.

According to Horse-Races.net, a dozen horses have emerged victorious from the spot since 1909. California Chrome most recently kept his Triple Crown aspirations alive from the No. 3 gate two years ago.

The undefeated Nyquist, who stormed down the closing stretch to seize the Kentucky Derby win, will seek his ninth victory Saturday at Pimlico. After besting a 20-horse field, he will attempt to beat his 10 competitors in the 9 1/2-furlong race Saturday.

Per Odds Shark, Nyquist is the runaway favorite at 4-7 over Kentucky Derby runner-up Exaggerator. Unlike the Run for the Roses, the top-heavy Preakness field features few legitimate threats to pull off an upset:

Post	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Odds
1	Cherry Wine	Dale Romans	Corey Lanerie	25-1
2	Uncle Lino	Gary Sherlock	Fernando Perez	33-1
3	Nyquist	Doug O'Neill	Mario Gutierrez	4-7
4	Awesome Speed	Alan Goldberg	Jevian Toledo	33-1
5	Exaggerator	Keith Desormeaux	Kent Desormeaux	15-4
6	Lani	Mikio Matsunaga	Yutaka Take	40-1
7	Collected	Bob Baffert	Javier Castellano	16-1
8	Laoban	Eric Guillot	Florent Geroux	40-1
9	Abiding Star	Ned Allard	J.D. Acosta	40-1
10	Fellowship	Mark Casse	Jose Lezcano	40-1
11	Stradivari	Todd Pletcher	John Velazquez	8-1

Expected Prize Money

Place	Payout
1st	$900,000 (60%)
2nd	$300,000 (20%)
3rd	$165,000 (11%)
4th	$90,000 (6%)
5th	$45,000 (3%)
Total Purse	$1.5 million

According to TheTripleCrown.com, the 141st Preakness Stakes contains a $1.5 million guaranteed purse, 60 percent of which is allotted to the winner. The prize pool increased from $1 million to the current amount before 2014's race.

Per the Kentucky Derby's official website, this year's first Triple Crown race accrued a total purse of $2,391,600, above the guaranteed $2 million benchmark. Nyquist netted a cool $1,631,600 for Reddam Racing.

Perhaps American Pharoah's Triple Crown triumph drew more eyes to 2016's proceedings. According to the Courier-Journal's Sheldon S. Shafer, the Derby garnered the second-most wagering in event history, slightly below last year's record. 

Given Nyquist's perfect record and active attempt to replicate Pharoah's feat, the spotlight will continue to shine on horse racing. Yet the overwhelming odds-on favorite could detract bettors from bothering, as the expected outcome would lead to a minuscule payout.

Race Preview

Garry Jones/Associated Press

While the two-week layover presents fatigue concerns for Nyquist, the short turnaround hasn't hindered past favorites. California Chrome and American Pharoah won the Derby and Preakness in the past two years, and I'll Have Another also had Triple Crown chances intact before pulling out of the Belmont Stakes in 2012.

Lani, who finished No. 9 at Churchill Downs, joins Nyquist and Exaggerator as the only horses from the Derby field running this weekend. Nyquist's trainer, Doug O'Neill, also oversaw I'll Have Another's Triple Crown pursuit, but he's more impressed with his current contender, per the Associated Press' Richard Rosenblatt. 

"Nyquist is just a tad more special, the way he carries himself, the way he acts around the barn," O'Neill said. "Just his whole presence is very unique and we're all feeding off that. ... It's a really good vibe and we realize this could be the last time we have a horse like this, so we're enjoying every moment of it."

He won with a strong finish, but Nyquist showed uncharted speed out of the gate in Kentucky. According to TimeformUS (via the Washington Post's Neil Greenberg), he ran the fastest opening half-mile of any winner since tracking began in 2004. His 152 pace figure topped Barbaro's 139, and his overall 123 fell just shy of American Pharoah's 127.

Nyquist is favored for good reason, but not everyone is sold. Bloomberg's David Papadopoulos argued against the chalk choice in a race full of speedsters:

"

But [Nyquist is] in something of tricky spot on Saturday, breaking from post position three, where he’ll be surrounded by speedy rivals. It’s something of a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t situation for his jockey Mario Gutierrez. Hustle Nyquist right out to the lead and he could get pressured into that torrid early pace by the other front-runners; take him back and he’ll likely get stuck behind horses for the first time in his career. Some handicappers don’t make much of this. I do. Horses aren’t naturally inclined to run through the cloud of dirt that’s kicked in their eyes, nose and mouth by the leaders. It’s an acquired skill. Some never handle it.

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If anyone's going to stop him, it's probably Exaggerator. Exaggerator has shared a course with Nyquist four times, though, failing each time to bump him below first place. Yet the weather report opens the window for an upset.

According to AccuWeather.com's Kevin Byrne, rain is expected to create a sloppy course Saturday. In his last race before the Kentucky Derby, Exaggerator cruised to a Santa Anita Derby victory in muddy conditions.

There's one unfamiliar name comfortably perched as the third favorite behind Nyquist and Exaggerator. Trainer Todd Pletcher will enter Stradivari into the Preakness after missing the Derby. As Jonathan Lintner of the Courier-Journal noted, the colt won his last two races by a combined 25 lengths.

Having run only three races and no Grade 1 competitions, Stradivari doesn't have much experience, but he instead has fresh legs on his side. While the intrigue behind the unknown and the lack of appealing underdogs have boosted his stock, this is looking like a two-horse race.

Look for Nyquist and Exaggerator to re-enact the same one-two finish from two weeks ago.