Preakness 2016 odds: Nyquist favored to win second leg of Triple Crown

Nyquist did well as the favorite in his first Triple Crown race, pulling away down the stretch to win the 2016 Kentucky Derby on Saturday. and will face the challenge again in two weeks as the favorite at the Preakness Stakes.

The folks at Bovada in their initial odds for the Preakness installed Nyquist as a -170 favorite to win the second leg of the Triple Crown, meaning it would take a $170 wager to win $100. The field is the only other option, at +120, meaning a successful $100 wager would win $120 should any other horse win.

The 141st running of the Preakness will be run on Saturday, May 21, at Pimtralico Race Track in Baltimore.

Nyquist has yet to lose in any of his eight races, including a 3-0 record in 2016. He was the fourth consecutive favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, and three of the last four winners at Churchill Downs have also won the Preakness — American Pharoah in 2015, California Chrome in 2014, and I’ll Have Another in 2012.

Jockey Mario Gutierrez and trainer Doug O’Neill won their second Kentucky Derby together with Nyquist, four years after teaming up with I’ll Have Another to win at Churchill Downs and Pimlico in 2012, only to fall short of the Triple Crown with the horse getting scratched on the day before the Belmont Stakes, the final leg.

Bovada also placed early odds on Nyquist winning the Belmont, putting the undefeated thoroughbred at +120, with the field at -170. A bet at Bovada now for Nyquist winning the Triple Crown is a +250 wager, with “No” the favorite at -400.

“This is such a special horse,” O’Neill said of Nyquist on Saturday, per the Associated Press. “You can see it in his eye on a daily basis and he’s such a professional. Any human sport, he’d be the top-notch athlete. He’s just first class.”