Mike Schultz
May 20, 2016

Preakness 2016 Odds: Picks and Predictions

The 2016 Preakness Stakes is the 141st running of this annual race, the second jewel of the Triple Crown. This year’s event at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland will see all eyes directed at Nyquist, who is the odds favorite to win, and who is coming off an impressive win by 3.75 lengths at the Kentucky Derby. Ten others horses will try and upset Nyquist, and there’s a good chance they’ll be doing it on a muddy track, as the forecast in Baltimore is calling for a 90% chance of showers on Saturday night.

Nyquist’s trainer, Doug O’Neill, doesn’t seem to be worried about the possibility of a wet track, saying that they’ve “seen that Nyquist can handle a bit of weather. He’s a sure-footed horse. Whatever the weather will be, I think he’ll show up and run his race.”

It was recently announce that Gun Runner won’t be running in the Preakness. Trainer Steve Asmussen telling reporters that the Kentucky Derby’s third-place finisher will skip the Preakness to rest up for the Belmont Stakes. This means that Nyquist, Exaggerator and Lani will be the only horses from the Kentucky Derby making an appearance at this year’s Preakness Stakes.

Preakness Stakes Contenders

Nyquist

Jockey/Trainer: Mario Gutierrez, Doug O’Neill
Post Position: 3

Currently the -152 favorite to win Preakness, Nyquist has been undefeated throughout eight races and his Kentucky Derby win showed that he has the speed and strength to be the next potential Triple Crown winner. He won the Florida Derby on a wet racetrack, so experts don’t think another muddy track will be a hindrance for him.

Exaggerator

Jockey/Trainer: Kent Desormeaux, Keith Desormeaux
Post Position: 5

The current odds have Exaggerator at +350, the nearest competition for Nyquist, but Exaggerator can’t seem to solve the Kentucky Derby winner, and has been beaten by Nyquist in each of the four races he’s faced him in. However, Exaggerator seems to do well on wet tracks, and won in the rain at the G1 Santa Anita earlier this year.

Cherry Wine

Jockey/Trainer: Corey Lanerie, Dale Romans
Post Position: 1

Cherry Wine is a longshot at +2500. He failed to make the draw for this year’s Kentucky Derby, although he was fourth at the G2 Rebel in March and third in G1 Blue Grass in April, he’s still not at the caliber of the front runners at this year’s Preakness.

Uncle Lino

Jockey/Trainer: Fernando Hernández Pérez, Gary Sherlock
Post Position: 2

Uncle Lino is another long shot at the Preakness, with current odds for him at +3300. This son of Uncle Mo starts out quick, but doesn’t seem to hold his speed. The winner of April’s California Chrome Stakes will struggle to match the endurance of this race’s front runners.

Awesome Speed

Jockey/Trainer: Jevian Toledo, Alan Goldberg
Post Position: 4

Awesome Speed, who is currently set at +3300, doesn’t always live up to his name – he starts fast but slows faster. He received an automatic bid by winning via a disqualification in a stakes race at Laurel.

Lani

Jockey/Trainer: Yutaka Take, Mikio Matsunaga
Post Position: 6

This temperamental horse out of Japan finished ninth at the Kentucky Derby, and he has a win in the UAE Derbys, but this sire of Tapit might struggle on the wet track, which sets his current odds at +4000.

Collected

Jockey/Trainer: Javier Castellano, Bob Baffert
Post Position: 7

Collected’s trainer Bob Baffert will be gunning for a record-tying seventh Preakness win with this up-and-coming horse, who is currently listed at +1600. Collected has won his last two races, including a win at Lexington, but he’s never raced past 1800m.

Laoban

Jockey/Trainer: Florent Geroux, Eric Guillot
Post Position: 8

Another long shot at the Preakness Stakes, Laoban has been winless in his last five starts. Another of Uncle Mo’s sons, Laoban is scheduled to race without blinkers in the Preakness. His odds are currently set at +4000.

Abiding Star

Jockey/Trainer: J.D. Acosta, Ned Allard
Post Position: 9

This colt was the winner of Parx Derby two weeks ago, capping a five-race winning streak, but this will Abiding Star’s graded-stakes debut. He’s never raced beyond a mile, which is why his current odds are set at +3300.

Fellowship

Jockey/Trainer: Jose Lezcano, Mark Casse
Post Position: 10

The current odds on Fellowship are set at +4000. He’s been without a win in his last seven races, and was a long-shot third in three Kentucky Derby preps in Florida, but to his credit, he came in third behind Nyquist on a wet track.

Stradivari

Jockey/Trainer: John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher
Post Position: 11

Stradivari has been nothing if not impressive in the lead-up to Preakness. In both of his last two-turn races, he won by double-digit lengths, first by 11 ¼ lengths last December, then again in April by 14 ½ lengths. Stradivari is a son of Medaglia d’Oro, and multiple graded stakes winning mare, Bending Strings. His odds are currently set at +800.