Preakness 2016 Contenders: Updated Race-Day Outlook for Top Favorites
The globe sees shades of American Pharoah in Nyquist ahead of Saturday's 2016 Preakness Stakes.
It's in no way unwarranted, but those who want to play the odds or simply hope for something other than a blowout by the sport's top name can take solace in the fact the contenders list for the event is quite notable.
Behind Nyquist, Las Vegas has crowned several other top contenders with impressive resumes. Sprinkle in details like post positions and the folks in charge of the runners and one gets a view of a field not receiving enough credit in the face of top-heavy allegations.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Here's a look at everything to know going into Saturday's showdown, including the race-day favorites.
Date: Saturday, May 21
Post Time: 6:45 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra
Preakness Entries and Odds
| 1 | Cherry Wine | Dale Romans | Corey Lanerie | 20-1 |
| 2 | Uncle Lino | Gary Sherlock | Fernando Perez | 20-1 |
| 3 | Nyquist | Doug O'Neill | Mario Gutierrez | 3-5 |
| 4 | Awesome Speed | Alan Goldberg | Jevian Toledo | 30-1 |
| 5 | Exaggerator | Keith Desormeaux | Kent Desormeaux | 3-1 |
| 6 | Lani | Mikio Matsunaga | Yutaka Take | 30-1 |
| 7 | Collected | Bob Baffert | Javier Castellano | 10-1 |
| 8 | Laoban | Eric Guillot | Florent Geroux | 30-1 |
| 9 | Abiding Star | Ned Allar | J.D. Acosta | 30-1 |
| 10 | Fellowship | Mark Casse | Jose Lezcano | 30-1 |
| 11 | Stradivari | Todd Pletcher | John Velazquez | 8-1 |
Outlook for Favorites
Stradivari
Stradivari is the darling of fans and Las Vegas, the horse getting plenty of hype beforehand based on one factor: upside.
A Todd Pletcher horse in itself deserves plenty of hype, but what's encouraging about Stradivari is the fact the team has done nothing short of improve over three runs dating back to last November.
As Brian Blessing of the Las Vegas Review-Journal detailed, Stradivari's latest run was the most encouraging:
"The buzz horse is going to be Todd Pletcher’s charge, Stradivari, the third choice in the morning line at 8-1. The lightly raced son of Medaglia d’Oro has improved every race and posted an impressive allowance score at Keeneland that produced a Beyer figure of 100 in a 14-length romp.
"
That's one way to build hype going into the Preakness Stakes.
Some might scowl at the 11th post, but all it means is a lightly run Pletcher horse jockeyed by a notable name in John Velazquez can break from the outside and look to put on a late sprint for the upset.
Given the speed and freshness of Stradivari's legs, it's not hard to see why Pletcher's horse slots among the favorites. Keep an eye out for a shocking late push.
Exaggerator
Trotted out by the Desormeaux brothers, Exaggerator is the opposite of Stradivari, with the former a contender through sheer experience.
Exaggerator took first in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby back in April and has a laundry list of a resume, dating back to last June. The only problem with the resume is four losses to Nyquist in the lengthy span.
Indeed, it's a bit of overwhelming evidence to suggest Exaggerator doesn't have what it takes. But even Nyquist trainer Doug O'Neill has seen enough to classify him as a scary competitor during a talk with John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times.
"Exaggerator scares us because…he's the kind of horse that can be laying back and just surge at just the right time," O'Neill said. "We really respect him a lot but we're super happy with how Nyquist is coming into this. We feel we're going to be in a pretty good spot."
Popular support for the idea this time could be different continues to grow, too, as Kirk Herbstreit helped point out:
Sloppy or clean conditions, it's clear Exaggerator has the talent to make this competitive running out of the fifth post, where jockey Kent Desormeaux can choose how to pace the running and push late.
Nyquist
By and large, the general outlook says Nyquist won't have any problems Saturday.
One can just hear the confidence from O'Neill in the quote above after speaking in a respectful manner about the competition.
And why not? Nyquist hasn't shown any signs of slowing, not only besting names such as Exaggerator multiple times, but having not lost a race dating back to last June—a streak including five Grade 1 events.
The only real argument against Nyquist is how weather might affect his run and if fatigue will set in at the worst possible time. Fatigue is perhaps the biggest red flag, not just because Nyquist has run so many races, but because the Kentucky Derby to Preakness Stakes is such a short turnaround.
Still, one could turn the argument on its head. The short turnaround might seem like it stinks, but it's a factor that has caused many notable names to sit Saturday out. A full 20-horse field entered the Kentucky Derby, whereas Saturday features 11, giving Nyquist less congestion to run as he so pleases.
And if Nyquist and jockey Mario Gutierrez can run however they want, it's bad news for the rest of the field. The outlook hasn't changed for Nyquist, not since before the Kentucky Derby. For a sport where parity hurts national attention, that's a good thing.
Stats and information courtesy of Preakness.com unless otherwise specified. Odds via Odds Shark.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
