The 141st running of the Preakness Stakes may be Saturday's marquee race, but it's far from the only one. Beginning at 10:30 a.m. at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, 14 races (eight stakes, four graded) are scheduled to be run. The Grade I Preakness itself has a 6:45 p.m. post time and viewers can tune in to NBC beginning at 5. But you can watch the undercard on NBCSN as early as 2:30 p.m., or stream it online with NBC Sports Live Extra.
Preakness 2016 undercard stakes preview: 14 races are set for Pimlico
The Preakness is just one of 14 races being held Saturday at Churchill Downs. Here are a few others to keep an eye on.
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Three of the undercard races are graded, beginning with the $250,000 Dixie Stakes, for ages 3 and up, a 1-1/16 mile Grade II turf race. On the shorter end, the $150,000 Maryland Sprint Stakes is a six-furlong Grade III race on 3-year-olds and up.
The $150,000 Gallorette Handicap for females 3 and up is a Grade III race run for 1 1/16 miles on grass. Although not a graded race, eyes will also be on the $100,000 The Very One, a five-furlong turf race for fillies and mares ages 3 and up.
Dixie Stakes
The race preceding the Preakness, the Dixie Stakes has the day’s second-largest purse. A 5-year-old son of Tapit, Ring Weekend won three out of his four starts before being sidelined with foot abscesses after winning in March 2015 at Santa Anita. This will be his first race since then. The favorite in the race is Grand Arch, at 9/2 morning line odds. However, he hasn’t raced since last September, either.
Gallorette
Tiger Ride, trained by Graham Motion, enters as favorite at 7/2. Josdesanimaux follows closely at 4/1, with Mizz Money just behind at 9/2. The 4-year-old Tiger Ride has two starts in 2016, including a second-place finish in a seven-furlong distaff at Gulfstream Park.
Sir Barton Stakes
Dazzling Gem could have raced in the Preakness. Instead of being pit against a sure loss to Nyquist or a handful of other Preakness contenders, he has a chance to lead the field of 14 at the Sir Barton. All four of Dazzling Gem’s starts have come as a 3-year-old, with a third-place finish in the Grade II Louisiana Derby in March and fourth in the Grade I Arkansas Derby in April. The favorite is American Freedom, trained by Bob Baffert. American Freedom finished sixth in the Pat Day Mile in the Kentucky Derby undercard.
Maryland Sprint
The 6-year-old Salutos Amigos enters as the morning line favorite here. He’s coming off a fourth-place finish in the Grade II Churchill Downs Stakes two weeks ago on the Kentucky Derby’s undercard and finished second in both of his prior two starts of 2016. He is undefeated in seven starts on a wet track.
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