Belmont Stakes Start Time 2016: NBC TV Schedule, Post Time, Live Stream, Picks

Exaggerator may have ended Nyquist's Triple Crown bid at the Preakness Stakes, but intrigue is still abounding in advance of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. 

History won't be made the way it was last year, when American Pharoah cemented his status as one of the most dominant horses of the past half-century. Still, Exaggerator will have a chance to carve out a place in the record books with a winning effort in Elmont, New York. 

Date: Saturday, June 11

Post Time: 6:32 p.m. ET

TV Coverage: 3-5 p.m. ET on NBCSN; 5-7 p.m. ET on NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

Preview and Picks

Post Position	Horse	Odds
1	Governor Malibu	14-1
2	Destin	9-1
3	Cherry Wine	8-1
4	Suddenbreakingnews	7-1
5	Stradivari	7-1
6	Gettysburg	40-1
7	Seeking the Soul	40-1
8	Forever d'Oro	40-1
9	Trojan Nation	40-1
10	Lani	16-1
11	Exaggerator	5-4
12	Brody's Cause	14-1
13	Creator	16-1

As the odds indicate, Saturday's race at Belmont Park will be Exaggerator's to lose.

Not only did the Preakness Stakes winner flash fine form as he blew past Nyquist down the homestretch in Baltimore at Pimlico Race Course, but the field at the year's final Triple Crown gem isn't loaded with top-flight contenders. 

"It’s a little different than usually us coming through the back door, but I’ve always said I’d much rather have the favorite than be [20-1]," Exaggerator jockey Kent Desormeaux said Wednesday, per the New York Times' Melissa Hoppert. 

Nyquist was forced to drop out with a high white blood cell count, per Daily Racing Form's David Grening, and co-second favorites Stradivari and Suddenbreakingnews aren't particularly daunting foes. Stradivari came in fourth at the Preakness, while Suddenbreakingnews tallied a fifth-place effort at the Kentucky Derby. 

Cherry Wine is an intriguing sleeper at 8-1 following a second-place finish at the Preakness. However, a 1 ½-mile run will pose a challenge compared to the shorter run at Pimlico—even though the roan colt displayed strong closing speed down the stretch: 

But ultimately, it all comes back to Exaggerator—who will start the final leg of the Triple Crown on the outside after drawing the 11th post at Wednesday's reveal. 

"I think it's a wonderful post position," Desormeaux said, per America's Best Racing's Jeremy Balan. "I can't see any horses that will cross over on him. (We should be) able to establish position, preferably, without getting a grain of sand in his face."

Desormeaux and Exaggerator are masters at keeping pace before breaking loose down the backstretch, and that tactical preference should pay dividends at Belmont Park.

So long as Desormeaux can keep Exaggerator on pace in the middle of the pack and prevent him from falling behind early, a late surge should be in order that allows the Preakness winner to capture a majority share of this year's Triple Crown races. 

Picks: 1. Exaggerator, 2. Cherry Wine, 3. Stradivari