The Haiku Handicapper: 2016 Preakness Stakes
DRF sales editor Joe Nevills analyzes the Preakness Stakes field, in post position order, in the form of Haiku, a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.
Cherry Wine
Loves to split traffic
Could carve out a decent check
If he gets room late
Uncle Lino
Took the SoCal prep
First time he held position
In a two-turn race
Nyquist
The Derby winner
Haven’t seen quit in him yet
The same trip wins here
Awesome Speed
From the local prep
Will have to stare down Nyquist
To maintain the pace
Exaggerator
Dead aim on Nyquist
But did he empty the tank
Trying to catch him?
Lani
Handled with kid gloves
Surprised in splitting Derby
A true wild card
Collected
Second-tier prep king
Makes the jump to the big leagues
Live in the super
Laoban
Likely odds-on choice
In any maiden special
Let’s manage our goals
Abiding Star
Beat Parx quarantine
And all foes in his last five
Not as likely here
Fellowship
Pat Day audible
Couldn’t get him on the board
Begs for class relief
Stradivari
Hot allowance win
To a gate in the Preakness
Doesn’t often work
Prediction
Clean horse in the slop
Nyquist’s too much for this field
Chased by the one, five

