No obvious concerns for Nyquist drawing post 3 in 11-horse Preakness

Juvenile champion and Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Nyquist will attempt to stay unbeaten Saturday in the $1.5 million Preakness (G1), and will break from post 3 in the 1 3/16-mile classic at Pimlico.

With only 11 horses entered in the Preakness, post position isn't quite as crucial as it was two weeks ago in the Derby, but it is interesting nonetheless that Nyquist will breaking just outside Uncle Lino, who is expected to show early foot, and well inside other potential front runners such as Laoban.

From this post, it is hard to envision Nyquist having much difficulty working out a trip similar to the one he had at Churchill Downs, where he rated just behind the pacesetters.

Derby runner-up Exaggerator will break from post 5, which should pose no apparent problem for the closer. However, both he and the Bob Baffert-trained Collected both share Lani as a neighbor in the starting gate. There was concern the Japanese invader might cause issues in the gate at the Kentucky Derby, and while that did not materialize, the Tapit colt does come with a history of occasional misbehavior.

The promising Stradivari, who makes his stakes debut in the Preakness, will break from post 11, so the possibility exists that the stalker might find himself wider than preferred entering the first turn.

By far the larger issue facing the field of 11 on Saturday will be the weather. Temperatures in Baltimore are expected to be unseasonably cool for the Preakness and the forecasts predict the chance of rain, and thus a wet track, are anywhere from 70-100 percent.

Photo by Cecilia Gustavsson/Horsephotos.com