Preakness 2020 Weather: Latest Race-Day Forecast for Pimlico

Adverse weather should not be a factor Saturday at the 2020 Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.

While the temperature has certainly dipped below summer standards, it should be a pleasant evening at Pimlico Race Course for the 145th running of the Preakness. According to Weather.com, the forecast is sunny, mid-60s and no rain.

Betting favorites Authentic and Art Collector will lead the 11-horse field on to the track. NBC's coverage will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET, though post time is approximately 5:45 p.m. ET.

Post Positions and Odds

1. Excession (30-1)

2. Mr. Big News (12-1)

3. Art Collector (5-2)

4. Swiss Skydiver (6-1)

5. Thousand Words (6-1)

6. Jesus' Team (30-1)

7. Ny Traffic (15-1)

8. Max Player (15-1)

9. Authentic (9-5)

10. Pneumatic (20-1)

11. Liveyourbeastlife (30-1)

Odds from Preakness.com.

Latest on Thousand Words, Baffert

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has two horses in the Preakness, including betting favorite Authentic. That's a deserved label considering his triumph at the Kentucky Derby about a month ago.

Thousand Words had a shot to win the Derby but unfortunately didn't make it on to the Churchill Downs track.

Shortly before post time, Thousand Words reared in the paddock and dropped to the ground. Although the fall didn't result in an injury, the colt was a last-minute scratch.

Four weeks later, another opportunity has arrived. Baffert seems confident in a good showing from Thousand Words, too.

"He's getting over the track really well," Baffert said in a press release. "He's happy. He's pretty sharp. He's fresh; he didn't run in the Derby. He's pretty honest. So you never know. He's getting better. I can tell that he looks better now than he did for the Derby."

In seven starts, Thousand Words has four victories. This will be the longest race of his career, but a second-place finish at the 1⅛-mile Los Alamitos Derby is encouraging.

Additionally, if either Authentic or Thousand Words takes the Preakness, Baffert will further pad his legendary resume. One month ago, the 67-year-old celebrated his sixth Derby triumph—tying Ben Jones for the most in a career. Saturday could bring the eighth Preakness win of Baffert's career.

Now, though, some nerves are settling in.

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

"[Authentic] would have been ready to roll in two weeks," Baffert said, according to Thoroughbred Daily News. "I feel pressure now because I never lost a Preakness with a horse I won the Derby with. Now the pressure's on me."

Baffert is 5-of-5 winning the Preakness with a horse that also claimed the Kentucky Derby. Authentic has made six starts with five victories—including the Kentucky Derby and Grade 1 Haskell Stakes—so his record is near-perfect.

Perhaps Authentic sprints to a comfortable win anyway. But a longer layoff may be exactly what the field needed.

"I don't like giving the competition an extra two weeks to get ready for us," Baffert said, per Bob Ehalt of BloodHorse.

That's an understandable position from a trainer with the best horse. Then again, the extra preparation might ultimately propel Thousand Words to an upset.

Either way, the biggest name in horse racing has a couple of colts capable of taking him to the winner's circle again.

Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.