Belmont Stakes 2016 Contenders: Exaggerator and More Favorites

Dreams of a second consecutive Triple Crown winner ended in the Preakness Stakes as Exaggerator outlasted longtime rival and Kentucky Derby champion Nyquist to win the second leg. Now he arrives to Belmont Park as the favorite in the third jewel of the annual three-year-old showcase.

There won't be a rematch of the two winners in the 2016 Belmont Stakes, though. Joe Drape of the New York Times reported trainer Doug O'Neill opted against sending Nyquist to the race after his Preakness loss due to "a fever and an elevated white blood cell count."

Let's check out the entire group of horses that did make the trip and will be looking to upset Exaggerator on Saturday. That's followed by a closer look at the race's top contenders as the Triple Crown season comes to a close.

2016 Belmont Stakes Field

Post	Horse	Jockey	Odds
1	Governor Malibu	Joel Rosario	14-1
2	Destin	Javier Castellano	9-1
3	Cherry Wine	Corey Lanerie	8-1
4	Suddenbreakingnews	Mike Smith	7-1
5	Stradivari	John Velazquez	7-1
6	Gettysburg	Paco Lopez	40-1
7	Seeking The Soul	Florent Geroux	40-1
8	Forever d'Oro	Jose Ortiz	40-1
9	Trojan Nation	Aaron Gryder	40-1
10	Lani	Yutaka Take	16-1
11	Exaggerator	Kent Desormeaux	5-4
12	Brody's Cause	Luis Saez	14-1
13	Creator	Irad Ortiz Jr.	16-1

Analyzing Top Contenders

Exaggerator

Exaggerator came up short in each of his first four meetings with Nyquist. But an overly aggressive trip from the Derby winner and jockey Mario Gutierrez left the door open for a Preakness upset, and the horse sired by Breeders' Cup Classic winner Curlin took full advantage.

The biggest question whenever a horse takes part in all three Triple Crown races is how much energy they have left for their third race in five weeks. The Paulick Report passed along comments from trainer Keith Desormeaux about how the horse has responded:

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As a trainer, the time is of secondary importance. You want to see the horse recover after the work. If I get back to the barn and he's bug-eyed and he's sweating and he's panting, then that means he struggled over the track. When I got back to the barn, his sweat had already dried up. He had a nice calm, confident look in his eye and he was under control, so it looks like we're in good shape.

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That's crucial because the 12-furlong distance is an incredible challenge. Plenty of Triple Crown hopes have faded away at Belmont Park because top horses in the current era aren't used to racing such a busy schedule, with the toughest test of all coming at the end.

If Exaggerator is indeed fully recovered, there's no doubt he's the horse to beat. There isn't a ton of early speed in the field, which should allow jockey Kent Desormeaux to set a reasonable pace either on the lead or just off it, leaving plenty of kick for the final few furlongs.

Stradivari

Stradivari still carries a lot of intrigue. He's raced just four times in his career, including two wins and a fourth-place finish in the Preakness. Though he finished outside the money three weeks ago, it looked like he still had more to give at Pimlico, but couldn't find a clean lane until it was too late.

That would seem to make him an ideal fit for the longer Belmont. There are still legitimate questions about whether he's capable of overcoming a field of Grade 1 competition, but there have been enough flashes of high-end potential to believe he has a chance Saturday.

The biggest thing will be getting a cleaner start. If jockey John Velazquez can get him in space when it's time to make a move, he should take off like a bolt of lightning. Mike Welsch of the Daily Racing Form is among those bullish about his chances to contend:

His track record still isn't strong enough to guarantee he'll finish in the top three, which is one of the reasons Exaggerator should remain a steady favorite. But it's one of those situations where he could put together a truly special performance if everything falls into place.

Destin

Destin represents a more known commodity capable of challenging Exaggerator. He finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby and skipped the Preakness. That said, his two starts prior to the Triple Crown campaign were victories in the Tampa Bay Derby and Sam F. Davis Stakes.

Whether he's been able to maintain his endurance will be crucial. Mike Watchmaker of the Daily Racing Form highlighted how lightly he's been raced and that rest could certainly come in handy, as long as he's capable of handling the distance:

He's lacked consistency, as his two most recent wins were sandwiched by mediocre showings in the Derby and Lecomte Stakes. But in a race that features a field of horses with plenty of question marks, he's had some of the brightest moments.

Destin could end up setting the early pace Saturday. If that's the case, the most important factor will be jockey Javier Castellano reining him in to prevent overtaxing him, which is what happened to Nyquist in the Preakness. From there, it all comes down to whether he'll have the legs to handle 12 furlongs.