Preakness Results 2016: Finishing Time and Replay Analysis from Pimlico Race

Nyquist may not have been able to follow up on his Kentucky Derby victory with a triumph in the Preakness, but don't think for a second that the previously undefeated horse did not run a powerful race.

Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby because he got off to a sharp start, settled in behind the leaders and had his best run at the top of the stretch. 

Trainer Doug O'Neill and jockey Mario Gutierrez tried to follow the same tactics in the Preakness Saturday, but Nyquist was never able to settle in and run comfortably down the backstretch. Instead, Nyquist found himself engaged in a speed duel with Uncle Lino throughout much of the race, and that sapped his ability to turn it on down the stretch.

Exaggerator had no such problems on the sloppy Baltimore race track. The horse and jockey Kent Desormeaux had saved ground throughout the race and moved up steadily. By the time the field turned for home, he was in position to fire, take the lead and run away for a 3 ½-length victory over long shot Cherry Wine.

Cherry Wine edged out Nyquist for the place position by coming from far back and running down the tired horses down the stretch. Stradivari also mounted a late charge but could not pass Nyquist and finished fourth.

The replay of the race confirmed that the strategy employed by Desormeaux was the correct one.

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

How hard did Nyquist go out? The time for the first quarter-mile was 22.38, and that was the fastest time ever recorded for that first point of call in Preakness history. The duel carried all the way through the first half-mile with a time of 45.56, and while the time was a bit more reasonable at 1:11.97 at the three-quarter mile mark, Nyquist was also running quite wide in an effort to avoid the mud on the inside of the track.

Nyquist battled hard and stayed near the lead despite the fast pace until he ceded control of the race to Exaggerator, who won the race with a time of 1:58.31.

That time does not compare with the fastest in Preakness history. Louis Quatorze (1996) and Tank's Prospect (1985) share that record with a time of 1:53.2.

Trainer Keith Desormeaux always thought his horse could compete with and beat Nyquist, and he was defiant on the NBC broadcast (h/t Preakness.com) after his horse crossed the finish line first:

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“I hope it’s not only because of the muddy track. The horse has been training phenomenally. I think there was a conscious decision on the training approach between the Derby and here. My philosophy was to take it as easy as possible because you’re not going to gain any fitness in those two weeks. I did what I could to get him happy and fresh and strong and I’ve always said he’s always had a great ability to recover and he showed it today. [The Belmont] is three weeks from today, so I’ll be there with bells on.”

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Nyquist's status for the 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes has not been determined.

Prior to the start of the Triple Crown season, there were questions about his ability to run in the long-distance races, and after being used so hard in the Preakness, that's a question that O'Neill and Nyquist's owners will have to answer shortly.