‘Tis the season of horses. Horseracing mania continues this coming May 21 at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, where Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist will look to keep his Triple Crown dreams alive with a victory at the 2016 Preakness Stakes.
Nyquist is the heavy favorite to top this event, but there are other horses worthy of bettors’ consideration. Let’s look at the favorites and a couple of other entries below. For more about the 2016 Preakness Stakes, you can also check out what some of the top horse racing experts are predicting for the Preakness here.
No surprises here. Two weeks after winning the Derby, Nyquist will look to finish first anew in Baltimore. The three-year-old colt has yet to lose in a race and that’s something trainer Doug O’Neill would like to preserve. Speaking of O’Neill, the trainer isn’t new to success at Pimlico, having trained 2012 Preakness Stakes winner I’ll Have Another.
Recent trend is also favors Nyquist, as 10 of the previous 19 winners at Churchill Downs went on to win the Preakness Stakes also.
Perhaps the biggest threat to Nyquist in the Preakness Stakes is Exaggerator. Exaggerator has raced against Nyquist four times already and lost them all to the Canadian-owned colt. That shouldn’t deter bettors from taking a look at Exaggerator, especially after he gave Nyquist quite a scare at Churchill Downs before settling for a second-place finish.
In 10 career races, Exaggerator has only failed to show twice. He’s finished in the top three, however, in all of his last five events.
Stradivari didn’t race in the Derby, which makes him quite a mystery entry in the Preakness Stakes. Bettors who’ll trust Stradivari are looking at a horse that’s trained by a legend in Todd Pletcher, winner of seven Eclipse Outstanding Trainer of the Year awards.
Stradivari is also going to be saddled by another Hall of Famer in John R. Velasquez, who has won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes before. As for the horse itself, Stradivari has only raced three times, finishing first twice, albeit in non-graded stakes.
If you’re really into true underdogs, then you got to pay attention to Decorated Soldier. Contrary to what his name suggests, Decorated Soldier doesn’t have much to brag about. He’s only had two races before, finishing first in his maiden race in the Northern Spur before placing fifth in the Grade 2 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont on May 14.
Writer’s Prediction
Exaggerator (+400) finishes first, finally beats Nyquist, who comes in second. Creator places third.
