Kentucky Derby 2015 Purse: Prize Money Payout for Each Owner, Horse and Jockey

Some said it was the toughest field they can remember seeing at Churchill Downs. Others mentioned the plethora of other top contenders, ones who would have been pre-race favorites in past years. 

No words could stop American Pharoah from starting his Triple Crown journey.

The Bob Baffert-trained colt bested Firing Line by one length, pulling away down the stretch in what became a three-horse race. Dortmund, the second favorite before Saturday who was also trained by Baffert, came in third. Joel Rosario's Frosted was the only other horse within five lengths.

Horse	Win	Place	Show
American Pharoah	$7.80	$5.80	$4.20
Firing Line	-----	$8.40	$5.40
Dortmund	-----	-----	$4.20

“American Pharoah is something, he makes a trainer look good," Baffert said, per John Cherwa of The Los Angeles Times. "It’s a fantasy moment for us. It’s unbelievable I’m standing here for the fourth time.”

While developing a reputation as a special horse, Pharoah was not without competition. Dortmund and Firing Line paced the field for much of the early going, and neither appeared to be relenting until the final stretch. After taking the Arkansas Derby by eight lengths and the Rebel Stakes by 6.5, there was a little more sweating than normal going on in Pharoah's box.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

"Pharoah is a freak of nature," owner Ahmed Zayat said, per Christine Brennan of USA Today. "For the first time, I'm seeing him working, working hard. Out of fear, I'm thinking, 'Will they take it again from us?' My wife was crying. My son was throwing up. That's not us. It was a euphoria of emotions."

Place	No.	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Lengths
1	18	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	-----
2	10	Firing Line	Gary Stevens	Simon Callaghan	1
3	8	Dortmund	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	3
4	15	Frosted	Joel Rosario	Kiaran McLaughlin	3 1/4
5	5	Danzig Moon	Julien Leparoux	Mark Casse	6 1/2
6	3	Materiality	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	7 3/4
7	14	Keen Ice	Kent Desormeaux	Dale Romans	8 3/4
8	6	Mubtaahij	Christophe Soumillon	Mike de Kock	9 1/2
9	13	Itsaknockout	Luis Saez	Todd Pletcher	10 1/4
10	2	Carpe Diem	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	11
11	21	Frammento	Corey Nakatani	Nick Zito	12
12	9	Bolo	Rafael Bejarano	Carla Gaines	12 3/4
13	17	Mr. Z	Ramon Vazquez	D. Wayne Lukas	15 1/2
14	1	Ocho Ocho Ocho	Elvis Trujillo	Jim Cassidy	15 1/2
15	20	Far Right	Mike Smith	Ron Moquett	15 3/4
16	16	War Story	Joe Talamo	Tom Amoss	19 1/4
17	4	Tencendur	Manny Franco	George Weaver	35
18	19	Upstart	Jose Ortiz	Rick Violette Jr.	60 1/2
	7	El Kabeir	Calvin Borel	John Terranova	SCR
	11	Stanford	Florent Geroux	Todd Pletcher	SCR
	12	International Star	Miguel Mena	Michael Maker	SCR

Pharoah will go on to the Preakness Stakes in two weeks, where he'll go off as a massive favorite. The Preakness, generally speaking, is by far the easier of the remaining two to win. It's on a course with an almost identical length (10 vs. 9.5) and will feature a field with far less talent than Churchill Downs. Trainers have increasingly held their top contenders out of the second leg for rest purposes before bringing them back at the Belmont.

"The fact that there have been a lot of close calls almost adds to the intrigue," said Steve Cauthen, who jockeyed Affirmed in 1978, per Gary Mihoces of USA Today. "And you realize how difficult it is to have a horse that good and that can overcome things that every Triple Crown winner has to overcome to get it pulled off."

Good thing for Pharoah is that he has plenty of Triple Crown experience in his stable. Baffert has won four times at Churchill Downs, though this is his first since 2002. The first three times, Baffert's horse has gone on to take the Preakness.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Jockey Victor Espinoza knows the feeling of coming up just short, too. He did it last year. Espinoza was atop California Chrome for his triumphs at Churchill Downs and Pimlico before things fell apart of a fourth-place run at the Belmont.

"He's been a special horse since I first rode him," Espinoza told reporters after the race.

Pharoah's triumph in some ways overshadows strong runs from Firing Line and Dortmund. Firing Line was a popular sleeper choice coming into the race at 12-1 and proved himself capable of hanging with the best. Jockey Gary Stevens spoke to Jerry Bossert of the New York Daily News:

"

Going into that first turn, he was pulling hard. I looked over and saw that Martin’s horse (Martin Garcia on Dortmund) was pulling just as hard as mine. I eased back off him a little bit and gave both horses some breathing room. He (Firing Line) was aggressive today. He was on it. Coming for home I thought I might get there, but it wasn’t to be. My horse showed his braveness today. He just got beat. I’m very proud of him.

"

In many ways, it's easy to see Pharoah as the perfect-storm Triple Crown candidate. He's one of the most dominant horses we've seen in recent memory, garnering comparisons to Michael Jordan and the University of Kentucky basketball team. He's also part of a team that has come this close to reaching the mountaintop, only to fall short.

Baffert has won two of the three major races four times (he once won a Preakness and Belmont). Espinoza still feels the sting of last year. Even Zayat was long a bridesmaid in Kentucky Derby races before Saturday.

"To win this Derby, this is for the Zayats who have suffered so much running these seconds, since Bodemeister and Pioneerof the Nile," Baffert told reporters. "We know what it is to just get completely punched right in the face."

In Pharoah, it appears they've finally found a horse that will punch the field right back. One race down, two to go. Let's see if Pharoah can pull it off. 

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