Preakness Stakes 2018 Contenders

The Preakness Stakes 2018 takes what we think we know and turns it on its head. At a mile and a half, the race is a true test of endurance. Contenders that look unbeatable in the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness arrive in New York only to look all-too-average by the finish line.

Will that be the case with Exaggerator, as well? The 3-year-old colt trained by Keith Desormeaux and ridden by his brother, jockey Kent Desormeaux, appears to pick up steam as a race progresses. Had the Kentucky Derby lasted a little longer, today we might be talking about Exaggerator going for a Triple Crown on Saturday rather than just adding another point to an already long list of accomplishments.

New York Racing Association odds maker Eric Donovon has set the morning line odds at 9-5 in Exaggerator's favor, which sounds great. Until you convert that into a percentage and find that is slightly more than a 35 percent chance Exaggerator is crowned in the blanket of carnations after the race. The field has a 65 percent chance of pulling off an upset.

It's not uncommon for a number of horses who ran in the Kentucky Derby to skip the Preakness. So, after a 20-horse field, filling both the main and auxiliary gates at Churchill Downs, only 11 horses were entered at Pimlico two weeks later. Of those, only a handful (Nyquist, Exaggerator, Lani) were Derby carryovers. It just doesn't make sense for most trainers to push a horse into three races across a scant five weeks.

And with hopes of a Triple Crown dashed for Nyquist, the Kentucky Derby winner who opened his career 8-for-8 -- as well as concerns over his health after a high white blood cell count and fever following the Preakness -- only Exaggerator and Lani will be entering all three races.

They'll welcome back from familiar faces, however. Suddenbreakingnews finished 4-1/2 lengths out of the Derby and has 10-1 odds. Destin finished about two lengths back of him in sixth. The Todd Pletcher trained horse has 6-1 odds. Brody's Cause, who was seventh in the Derby at about 9 lengths back, will compete, as well. He's at 20-1 odds. Creator, a Steve Asmussen trained horse, finished 13th in Kentucky at 18 lengths back. He's got 10-1 odds on Saturday.

Preakness Stakes 2018 Live

All eyes will be on the 11th race of the day Saturday, the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes 2018, but there’s a full day of action planned for what might be a wet, stormy Preakness Park. Six Grade I stakes races are set to be held, along with two Grade II and one Grade III on the third day of the Preakness Stakes Festival of Racing.

NBCSN will provide coverage beginning at 3 p.m. with streaming via NBC Sports Live Extra. At 5 p.m., the broadcast switches to NBC. The stream remains in the same place. The 2018 Preakness Stakes will go to post at approximately 6:37 p.m.

The first race, the Easy Goer, heads to post at 11:35 a.m. ET. Highlights of the day include the Grade I Acorn for 3-year-old fillies (won by underdog Carina Mia), the Grade I Ogden Phipps (won by Cavorting) and the Longines Just a Game (won by Celestine) — both for fillies and mares ages 4 and up — the Mohegan Sun Metropolitan Mile (won by Frosted) for horses 3 and up, and the Woodford Reserve Manhattan (won by Flintshire) for horses 4 and up.

You can take a look at our Preakness Stakes undercard preview here for more information, and check back throughout the day for results of all the races.

Triple Crown Winners 2018

Triple Crown Winners 2018. On an idyllic Saturday evening at Belmont Park, American Pharoah made it worth the 37-year wait. Under a perfectly calculated ride by Victor Espinoza, the son of Pioneerof the Nile led the field from start to finish in the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, drawing away in the stretch to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 and end a drought that had seen the hopes of 13 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winners end in disappointment.

The milestone victory in the 148th 'Test of the Champion' was sweet redemption for the colt's connections, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and Espinoza, as the pair had accumulated five failed Triple Crown bids between them.

The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, comprises three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered a Thoroughbred racehorse's greatest accomplishment. The term originated in mid-19th century England and different nations where thoroughbred racing is popular each have their own Triple Crown series.