On a cold, rainy, dreary afternoon, the wattage from the smiles of those connected to Exaggerator could have lit up the town, from the Inner Harbor to Camden Yards, to Fells Point, and all the way to Pimlico Race Course.
Live by his speed, die by his speed. That was the game plan trainer Doug O’Neill wanted to employ for his Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist in Saturday’s $1.5 million Preakness Stakes at sloppy Pimlico.
The 141st running of the Preakness Stakes features the one-two (and ninth-place) finishers from the Kentucky Derby, but from a pace standpoint they are not at all similar. The Derby featured one clear one-dimensional speed in Danzing Candy, with a couple of stalkers and a dozen or so closers. The Preakness, of course, is loaded with speed, and that makes taking a short price on Nyquist dicey regardless of his credentials.
The following is a list of DRF resources and content related to the Preakness card at Pimlico on Saturday, May 21.
With rain in the forecast for Saturday at Pimlico, there stands a pretty good chance that the main track will end up something south of “fast” for the Preakness, adding yet another wrinkle when trying to handicap the middle leg of the Triple Crown.
There obviously are many times to overlook flaws in longshots who are attempting to beat questionable favorites. Such occasions will occur in races Friday and Saturday at Pimlico as well elsewhere around the country. But it’s hard to make a case for such a strategy in the Black-Eyed Susan and Preakness Stakes on Friday and Saturday.
Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist's final gallop before Saturday's $1.5 million Preakness Stakes got a little interesting Thursday morning when one of his rivals – the Bob Baffert-trained Collected – got a little too close for comfort.
Andy Beyer and Steve Crist preview the Preakness in a DRF webinar.
Just like we did for the Kentucky Derby, let’s look at a few contenders for this Preakness and see how they relate to other horses in recent Preakness Stakes history. Caveat emptor: These stats are mostly intended to be fun, playful, silly, or just interesting discussion starters, so use them at your own risk when upgrading or downgrading who you’re likely to bet in the Preakness.
Equestrian Phillip Dutton, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, has joined West Point Thoroughbreds, which co-owns Grade 1 winner Ring Weekend. Ring Weekend makes his return to competition in the Grade 2 Dixie Stakes on the Preakness undercard Saturday at Pimlico.
