A record crowd of 135,256 watched at historic Pimlico Race Course as Kentucky Derby runner-up Exaggerator handed Kentucky Derby and Florida Derby winner Nyquist his first defeat in nine career starts Saturday in the Preakness Stakes.
The win means there won’t be a second successive Triple Crown winner after American Pharoah took the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes last year.
The Maryland Jockey Club announced that Saturday’s 141st Preakness Stakes set all-time records for total handle and attendance for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
Exaggerator defeated Nyquist in the Preakness Saturday after losing four straight races to him (Pimlico.com Photo)
Exaggerator, trained by Keith Desormeaux and ridden by his brother Kent, won the Preakness with a different strategy than the one that yielded his runner-up finish to Nyquist in the Preakness. Rather than falling well off the pace early, then coming up just short with a late charge as he did in the Derby, Kent kept Exaggerator up near the pace set by Nyquist and Uncle Lino on Saturday. Never more than 4 or 5 lengths behind the leaders, the stalking Exaggerator rode the rail most of the race, then angled wide to get past the front-runners on the final turn, took the lead at the top of the stretch and rolled to victory by 3 1/2 lengths.
The victory was the third in the Preakness for Kent Desormeaux.
Doug O’Neill-trained Nyquist gamely tried to counter Exaggerator’s big move but ultimately ran out of gas in the 1 3/16-mile Preakness. Cherry Wine , nipped him at the wire by a nose to claim second for Louisville-based trainer Dale Romans. The defeat was the first in Nyquist’s nine-race career.
Exaggerator, son of 2007 Preakness winner Curlin, became the first Kentucky Derby runner-up to win the Preakness Stakes since Prairie Bayou in 1993.
Exaggerator paid $7.20 to win, $3.20 to place and $2.40 to show. Cherry Wine delivered $9.80 to place and $4.20 to show. Nyquist returned $2.20 to show.
The complete Preakness order of finish: Exxagerator, Cherry Wine, Nyquist, Stradivari, Lani, Laoban, Uncle Lino, Fellowship, Awesome Speed, Collected and Abiding Star.
“I’m just glad I get to walk across this track and take a picture on that side,” said winning trainer Keith Desormeaux, whose Exaggerator had lost to Nyquist in four previous races, including a second place finish in the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago. “When you get to take your picture taken on the turf course, you know you’ve done well.
“It’s kind of like the Santa Anita Derby, to know that you have the race won pretty much at the eighth pole, you’ve got to enjoy it.”
Total handle on Pimlico’s 14-race program, which featured seven other stakes, was a record $94,127,434, eclipsing the previous mark set in 2005 of $91,028,704. Total handle was up 10.8 percent over 2015 and attendance was up 2.5 percent over last year’s 131,680.
Total in-state wagering was up 3.1 percent.
Doug O’Neill, trainer of Nyquist, said he wasn’t sure whether the sloppy track conditions affected his horse.
“I don’t know. Hats off to Exaggerator and Team Desormeaux,” he said. “What a great run. I didn’t think we could get beat, to be honest with you. Nyquist is such an amazing horse and he still ran a great race. We’ll kind of figure this all out, watch some replays. I didn’t get a chance to talk with Mario (Gutierrez). Nyquist still ran a huge race.”
Saturday’s Preakness came after a record crowd of 47,956 attended Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan Day program. The crowd wagered $19.4 million over the previous year, a 4.7 percent increase.
“It was a truly remarkable weekend,” said Maryland Jockey Club President and General Manager Sal Sinatra. “The crowds were fantastic, the racing incredible, and once again InfieldFest drew some of the top performers in the world. We want to thank our horsemen and fans and the state of Maryland for setting a new standard at the Preakness.
“Our record handle and attendance is further indication of the revitalization of Maryland racing. We will continue our efforts to reinvigorate Thoroughbred racing in the Mid-Atlantic.”
From Preakness.com
