2016 Preakness Stakes
| Preakness Stakes | |
 "The Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown" "The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans" | |
| Location | Pimlico Race Course Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Date | May 21, 2016 |
| Winning horse | Exaggerator |
| Winning time | 1:58.31 |
| Jockey | Kent Desormeaux |
| Trainer | J. Keith Desormeaux |
| Owner | Big Chief Racing LLC. et al |
| Conditions | Sloppy (sealed) |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Attendance |  135,256 (record at the time) |
The 2016 Preakness Stakes (in full, the Xpressbet.com Preakness Stakes, due to sponsorship)[1] was the 141st running of the Preakness Stakes. The race was held on May 21, 2016, and was scheduled to be run at 6:45 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and was televised on NBC.[2] Exaggerator won the race, while 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist finished third. The Maryland Jockey Club reported a track record total attendance of 135,256, the second highest attendance for American thoroughbred racing events in North America during 2016.[3]
Field
After the running of the Kentucky Derby connections of the winner Nyquist sent the horse to Pimlico on 9 May.[4] Other runners from the Derby included second placed Exaggerator, who arrived at Pimlico on May 15,[5] and 9th placed Lani.[4] Of the other 17 Derby contenders, Gun Runner remained under consideration until Tuesday of Preakness week, then his trainer decided to rest him and train for races later in the summer instead.[6] Derby contenders Brody's Cause and Suddenbreakingnews were set to skip the Preakness and point to the 2016 Belmont Stakes.[7]
A total of eight new horses who did not contest the Derby were pointed at the Preakness. Awesome Speed, who won the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park, earned an automatic entry to the Preakness.[4] Other new contenders included Cherry Wine and Laoban, both Derby also-eligibles who were not able to start in the Kentucky race.[8] Of the horses who had not been on the Kentucky Derby trail, Stradivari, a lightly-raced colt trained by Todd Pletcher, Collected, a Bob Baffert-trainee who won the Lexington Stakes, and Uncle Lino, a west coast horse who won the inaugural California Chrome Stakes drew press interest.[9] Abiding Star was in question for a time, as he was stabled at Parx Racing, which was under a quarantine due to an outbreak of EHV-1 at that track. However, the quarantine was lifted on May 17, allowing him to ship to Pimlico and enter the race.[10]
The draw for the race was held at 5:30 pm (EDT) on May 18[11] and Nyqist was installed as the 3-5 morning line favorite.[12]
Race
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On a rainy day, the race went off at 6:52 PM, EST.[1] In spite of the weather, attendance was a record-breaking 135,256, beating the previous year's record of 131,680. The pari-mutuel take of $94,127,434 for the entire day's races also broke the previous record of $91,028,000 in 2005.[13]
On a sloppy but sealed track, Nyquist fell prey to a blistering early pace set by Uncle Lino. He led briefly at the 1/2 mile pole, but by the stretch he faded, and Exaggerator won by 3+1⁄2 lengths. The second-place finisher, Cherry Wine, had hit his head on the starting gate and was second-to-last for much of the race but saved ground on the rail and rallied in the stretch to take second place over Nyquist by a nose,[1] thus destroying any chance for the first back-to-back Triple Crown winners since 1977-78.
Entries
| Finish Position |
Program Number |
Horse name | Jockey | Trainer | Morning Line Odds |
Post Time Odds |
Stakes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Exaggerator | Kent Desormeaux | J. Keith Desormeaux | 3-1 | 2.60 | $900,000 |
| 2 | 1 | Cherry Wine | Corey Lanerie | Dale Romans | 20-1 | 17.30 | $300,000 |
| 3 | 3 | Nyquist | Mario Gutierrez | Doug O'Neill | 3-5 | 0.70 | $165,000 |
| 4 | 11 | Stradivari | John Velazquez | Todd Pletcher | 8-1 | 8.00 | $90,000 |
| 5 | 6 | Lani | Yutaka Take | Mikio Matsunaga | 30-1 | 30.40 | $45,000 |
| 6 | 8 | Laoban | Florent Geroux | Eric Guillot | 30-1 | 66.50 | |
| 7 | 2 | Uncle Lino | Fernando Perez | Gary Sherlock | 20-1 | 34.60 | |
| 8 | 10 | Fellowship | Jose Lezcano | Mark E. Casse | 30-1 | 58.10 | |
| 9 | 4 | Awesome Speed | Jevian Toledo | Alan E. Goldberg | 30-1 | 51.70 | |
| 10 | 7 | Collected | Javier Castellano | Bob Baffert | 10-1 | 14.0 | |
| 11 | 9 | Abiding Star | J. D. Acosta | Ned Allard | 30-1 | 40.40 |
- Winning owner and breeder: Big Chief Racing, LLC, Head of Plains Partners LLC, Rocker O Ranch, LLC et al. Breeder: Joseph B. Murphy[1]
- Final time: 1:58.31[1]
- Margins: 3+1⁄2 lengths, nose.[1]
- Track: Sloppy (sealed)[1]
135,256 (record at the time)
Payout
The 141st Preakness payout schedule[1]
| Pgm | Horse | Win | Place | Show |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Exaggerator | $7.20 | $3.20 | $2.40 |
| 1 | Cherry Wine | – | $9.80 | $4.20 |
| 3 | Nyquist | – | – | $2.20 |
- $2 Exacta (5-1) $88.40
- $2 Trifecta (5-1-3) $146.20
- $1 Superfecta (5-1-3-11) $317.00
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "PIMLICO - May 21, 2016 - Race 13" (PDF). equibase. May 21, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
- ^ "When are the Preakness & Belmont Stakes 2016?". Heavy. May 7, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ 2015 Preakness Stakes Media Guide; page 97.
- ^ a b c Blood Horse Staff (May 8, 2016). "Preakness Field Beginning to Take Form". Blood-Horse.com. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ Grening, David (May 16, 2016). "Preakness: Nyquist could have eight new opponents". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Blood Horse Staff (May 17, 2016). "Gun Runner Will Not Run in Preakness". Blood-Horse.com. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
- ^ McGee, Marty (May 12, 2016). "Preakness: Brody's Cause, Suddenbreakingnews to await Belmont Stakes". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Blood Horse Staff (May 9, 2016). "Dazzling Gem, Fellowship Eye Preakness". Blood-Horse.com. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- ^ Grening, David (May 13, 2016). "Preakness Stakes: Stradivari, Collected, Uncle Lino put in final drills". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ^ Novak, Claire (May 17, 2016). "Abiding Star Gets All Clear for Preakness". Blood-Horse.com. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
- ^ Mensching, Kurt (May 18, 2016). "Preakness 2016 post positions draw: Time and TV schedule". SB Nation. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
- ^ Balan, Jeremy (May 18, 2016). "Nyquist Draws Post 3 for Preakness". Blood-horse.com. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
- ^ LaMarra, Tom (May 21, 2016). "Exaggerator Turns the Tables, Wins Preakness". Blood-Horse. Retrieved May 22, 2016.