Nyquist is Morning Line Favorite at Preakness Stakes
Scott Morris | May 19, 2016
The second leg of the Triple Crown will be run on Saturday May 21. Eleven horses and their respective jockeys will head to the starting gate for the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.
Nyquist the recent winner of the Kentucky Derby will leave the three post and has been installed as the favorite at 3 to 5.
Just two of the 19 horses Nyquist beat during the Kentucky Derby on May 7 are competing in this Saturday’s Preakness Stakes looking to defeat the race favorite. Those two horses are Exaggerator, who was the runner-up at the Derby and Lani who finished ninth.
Exaggerator has drawn the post five and is the second choice of odds makers at 3 to 1. Lani, who won the UAE Derby, drew post six with odds makers making him 30 to 1. The two-year old was ninth in the Derby.
Amongst the new horses in this race are Stradivari currently listed as 8 to 1. Trained by Todd Pletcher the horse trounced foes by over 14 lengths at Gulfstream Park on April 17 in his last race.
All week thus far, it has been the weather that has grabbed the headlines. As of early Thursday morning, the chance of rain was reduced from 90% to only 70%, while the total rain projection decreased from about one inch to about a half inch.
Both favorite Nyquist and his closest competitor Exaggerator have done well racing on wet tracks. Of course, if the rains come earlier than Saturday the track might not be completely dry for the race, but will be far better than if the rain holds off until Saturday.
In addition to that, the main track at Pimlico dries quickly and the weather should not be that much of a factor, except for tens of thousands of fans that will pack into the infield.
Post Position, Horse and Morning Line for 2016 Preakness Stakes
- Cherry Wine, 20 to 1
2. Uncle Lino, 20 to 1
3. Nyquist, 3 to 5
4. Awesome Speed, 30 to 1
5. Exaggerator, 3 to 1
6. Lani, 30 to 1
7. Collected, 10 to 1
8. Laoban, 30 to 1
9. Abiding Star, 30 to 1
10. Fellowship, 30 to 1
11. Stradivari, 8 to 1
