Rick Lee’s Preakness selections and analysis

PP HORSE;JOCKEY;TRAINER;ML ODDS

3 NYQUIST;Mario Gutierrez;Doug O'Neill; 3-5

141st Preakness. Grade I. Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore. $1.5 million purse. 1 3/16 Miles. 3-year-olds. Post time 5:19 p.m. Central. NBC.

• Raced close to a fast pace and held off late-running rivals in Kentucky Derby victory. Has won five Grade I's at five different tracks and will go heavily favored to improve to 9-0.

5 EXAGGERATOR;Kent Desormeaux;Keith Desormeaux; 3-1

• Fast-closing second in the Derby. Is 0-4 in career vs. Nyquist, but margin of defeat is decreasing. Would benefit from a sloppy track, which he relished in a decisive Santa Anita Derby victory.

11 STRADIVARI;John Velazquez;Todd Pletcher; 8-1

• Broke maiden by 11 lengths on a wet Gulfstream Park track in second start and came back with a 14-length allowance victory 5 weeks ago at Keeneland. Is bred to improve at extended route distances.

2 UNCLE LINO;Fernando Perez;Gary Sherlock; 20-1

• Finished third to Exaggerator in Santa Anita Derby, but won California Chrome three weeks later and his improving form may land him underneath in the exotics.

1 CHERRY WINE;Corey Lanerie;Dale Romans; 20-1

• Rallied from far back to third in the Grade I Blue Grass at Keeneland. Broke maiden as a 2-year-old on a sloppy track, and expected fast pace should help.

7 COLLECTED;Javier Castellano;Bob Baffert; 10-1

• Contested pace before winning the Grade II Lexington by 4 lengths. Keeps rider Castellano and has trainer Baffert trying to be a spoiler in 2016 Triple Crown chase.

6 LANI;Yutaka Take;Mikio Matsunaga; 30-1

• Won UAE Derby in Dubai on March 26 and encountered slight trouble in ninth-place Kentucky Derby finish. Raced well over a wet track as a 2-year-old in Japan, and that should serve him well.

8 LAOBAN;Florent Geroux;Eric Guillot; 30-1

• Held fourth after showing early speed in Grade I Blue Grass. Rated OK in Jan. 9 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita, and is having blinkers removed.

9 ABIDING STAR;J.D. Acosta;Edward Allard; 30-1

• Has 5 consecutive wire-to-wire victories, including the May 7 Parx Derby. He has won 2 of 3 races on a wet track and is one of 4 Uncle Moe colts in the field.

10 FELLOWSHIP;Jose Lezcano;Mark Casse; 30-1

• Has finished with energy in four previous races in graded company, including a third-place finish to Nyquist in the Florida Derby. Career-best 87 Beyer Figure is well below today's rivals.

4 AWESOME SPEED;Jevian Toledo;Alan Goldberg; 30-1

• Three-time stakes winner was not a factor in previous graded-stakes event, and is likely to be farther behind in early going than he is accustomed to being.

Sports on 05/21/2016

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