Preakness 2016 Horses: Triple Crown Insight and Final Pre-Race Odds

Saturday's 141st running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore will see Nyquist attempt to become the third straight Kentucky Derby champion to capture the second Triple Crown jewel.

As Jonathan Lintner of the Courier-Journal reported, though, as of 12:20 p.m. ET, Nyquist was no longer the favorite. That honor went to the lightly raced Stradivari, who didn't run at Churchill Downs but was installed as a 3-5 favorite on Saturday—better than the 5-2 chances for Nyquist.

According to Lintner, an $80,000 wager was placed at a nearby track on Stradivari to win, which is what dropped the odds so significantly on him.

Below is an overview of the complete field of 11, featuring the updated odds cited by Lintner—courtesy of TVG on Twitter—along with a race preview. 

Post	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Odds
1	Cherry Wine	Dale Romans	Corey Lanerie	30-1
2	Uncle Lino	Gary Sherlock	Fernando Perez	60-1
3	Nyquist	Doug O'Neill	Mario Gutierrez	5-2
4	Awesome Speed	Alan Goldberg	Jevian Toledo	60-1
5	Exaggerator	Keith Desormeaux	Kent Desormeaux	9-2
6	Lani	Mikio Matsunaga	Yutaka Take	40-1
7	Collected	Bob Baffert	Javier Castellano	25-1
8	Laoban	Eric Guillot	Florent Geroux	80-1
9	Abiding Star	Ned Allard	J.D. Acosta	70-1
10	Fellowship	Mark Casse	Jose Lezcano	80-1
11	Stradivari	Todd Pletcher	John Velazquez	3-5

2016 Preakness Stakes Preview

Eclipse Sportswire/Getty Images

After opening at 8-1 in the morning line, Stradivari has seen his outlook improve in Lintner's odds listings. Despite having only three races under his belt with two wins and no graded stakes experience, trainer Todd Pletcher's top contender is generating plenty of buzz.

In his last appearance at Keeneland in April, Stradivari cruised to a whopping 14 ½-length win and was an 11 ¼-length winner in a December victory at Gulfstream Park. That was enough to persuade CNN's Larry King to endorse him as a prospective Preakness winner even before the huge odds shake-up:

Persistent precipitation is in the forecast throughout Saturday in Baltimore, which means Pimlico's track is bound to be sloppy once the Preakness gets underway. It speaks volumes that Stradivari was promoted to such a massive degree under the adverse race circumstances.

Mother Nature doesn't appear to faze Nyquist trainer Doug O'Neill as his supreme colt pursues the ultimate trifecta of horse racing.

"With a horse like Nyquist, I'm not overly concerned about the weather," said O'Neill on Friday, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "As far as rain or shine, we're not going to change anything shoeing-wise. He's going to wear the same shoes he's got on. We'd just love to have a beautiful day."

There's reason for O'Neill to be confident enough to not change Nyquist's tactics despite the perils of inclement weather. Nyquist's triumph at Churchill Downs preserved his perfect career record, which now stands at 8-0.

With a resume like that and numerous wins against top-flight competition before the Kentucky Derby, it's difficult to bet against Nyquist.

But Exaggerator is a worthy No. 3 favorite with two magnificent results in his prior couple of outings. Before his late surge to second in the Triple Crown opener, he roared to a 6 ½-length romp at the Santa Anita Derby, showing off a rare blend of power and speed.

If he can draw on similar magic Saturday, Exaggerator may well upend Nyquist's Triple Crown campaign and jaunt to the winner's circle in Baltimore.

What may give Exaggerator an edge is the fact he'll have Kent Desormeaux in the irons. He has won the Preakness Stakes twice in his career, whereas Nyquist jockey Mario Gutierrez has only won once. Stradivari's John Velazquez has never triumphed in the Run for the Black-Eyed Susans.

The pre-race momentum Stradivari received from the odds, Nyquist's unblemished record and Exaggerator's aforementioned surge in the Santa Anita slop provide three intriguing top-tier contenders in the Preakness.

Race history and stats courtesy of Horse Racing Nation.