Ten of the last 19 winners of the Kentucky Derby have gone on to win the Preakness Stakes two weeks later. Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist will try to become the fourth horse to win both races in the last five years with a win at Pimlico on Saturday, May 21.
Preakness 2016 odds: Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist favored to pay off at Preakness Stakes
Coming off a win in the Kentucky Derby, Nyquist is the betting favorite on the odds to win the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 21.
Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Nyquist is a -140 favorite to win the Preakness Stakes at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The colt improved to 8-0-0 lifetime with his win in the Kentucky Derby, which was an excellent run with jockey Mario Gutierrez at the helm.
There haven’t been back-to-back winners of the Triple Crown since Seattle Slew and Affirmed went back-to-back in 1977 and 1978, but Nyquist is going off at +250 to follow in American Pharoah’s footsteps and win the Triple Crown this year. Bettors looking to wager on the side of history can take Nyquist not to win the Triple Crown at -400.
Exaggerator has come up short in each of his previous races against Nyquist, and the horse was once again the best of the rest with a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.
Of the 19 horses that were defeated by Nyquist in the Kentucky Derby, only Exaggerator (+450 to win the Preakness) and Lani (+3300) are confirmed to be entered in the second leg of the Triple Crown.
Todd Pletcher’s Stradivari did not run in the Kentucky Derby, giving the horse a chance to play spoiler with fresh legs at the Preakness. Stradivari has won two of his first three races and would pay +1200 on the odds to win the Preakness.
Other 3-year-olds that did not race in the Derby but will race at Pimlico include Cherry Wine (+2500) and Laoban (40/1).
Other horses potentially in the mix to upset Nyquist’s shot at a Triple Crown include Gun Runner (+1400), Suddenbreakingnews (+1400), Destin (+1600), Mor Spirit (+1600) and Creator (+1600).
After Nyquist and Exaggerator crossed the finish line as the clear top two, Gun Runner, Mohaymen and Suddenbreakingnews were only separated by inches in the third, fourth, and fifth positions respectively. Mohaymen has been ruled out of racing in the Preakness.
