2015 Kentucky Derby Results: Video Replay, Times Chart, Triple Crown Predictions

Now the question becomes whether Bob Baffert's American Pharoah can shatter a 37-year-drought. 

Saturday unfolded as most expected at Churchill Downs, with American Pharoah rolling down the home stretch to a victory at the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown.

It's an impressive achievement in every sense, especially after some were willing to write off the three-year-old colt thanks to a poor post-position draw further shuffled with late scratches.

Still, American Pharoah withstood the late surge from contenders such as Baffert's Dortmund and Firing line, rode by legendary jockey Gary Stevens, putting to rest any questions about what would happen when he finally faces a competitive field—and a massive one to boot. 

The next question centers on the Triple Crown, so let's go hunting for answers. 

2015 Kentucky Derby Results

Place	No.	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Lengths
1	18	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	2:03.02
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

Video Replay

Triple Crown Dreams

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

One year ago, California Chrome, a heartwarming underdog—well, horse—with likable owners and trainers, took the globe by storm with a win at the Kentucky Derby and then the Preakness Stakes. 

Thanks to the epic run, more eyeballs than usual are on the sport, and expectations surrounding American Pharoah's bid are through the roof.

American Pharoah's run Saturday was reminiscent of California Chrome's dash to victory a year ago, although the latter broke away in much bigger fashion down the stretch. If one had to guess, the two Preakness Stakes performances will look similar, too. 

To be blunt, the Preakness Stakes isn't such a difficult speed bump when it comes to a Triple Crown pursuit. It's a shorter distance than the Kentucky Derby at 1 3/16 miles, and the field is usually much weaker. The reason for the weakened field is typically due to owners and trainers saving their horses for a better chance at a purse in the mad dash known as The Belmont Stakes.

There are a few contenders who should give American Pharoah pause at the Preakness Stakes, chief among them Firing Line, as Doug Salvatore of Twinspires.com offers:

It's tough to know the exact field for the race, but Firing Line figures to be around. It wasn't a shock to see Stevens and the Simon Callaghan-trained horse stick around late Saturday, not after a major win at the Sunland Derby and losing to Dortmund by just a head at the Robert B. Lewis Stakes in February.

Still, American Pharoah doesn't figure to have an issue with a shorter distance. A simple yet telling heap of praise from trainer D. Wayne Lucas after Saturday's event says it all, per Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde:

Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

"I have not been that impressed with a horse in a long time. We came up to him, and when Victor Espinoza just nudged him, he opened up four or five lengths on us. … That just breaks horses' hearts. That impressed the hell out of me."

The Preakness isn't what hurts Triple Crown bids, though—it's "The Test of the Champion."

But here's the thing—what American Pharoah just showed at Churchill Downs translates well to the long trek of the Preakness.

His ability to distance himself from one of the deepest classes in recent memory out of a tough opening gate will prove huge in the final third of the Triple Crown. Even better, the lineage is there after grandsire Empire Maker won the Belmont in 2003.

It's bold-proclamation time—American Pharoah will pull off the Triple Crown.

"There's a certain aura about him," Baffert said, per USA Today's Christine Brennan. "He's a lightly raced horse but he's caught everybody's attention. This American Pharoah, he's just something. He keeps bringing it. It's a fantasy moment for us."

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

American Pharoah already overcame gigantic obstacles at Churchill Downs. Heck, owner Ahmed Zayat had never won a Derby. Baffert hadn't in 13 years. The latter brings a gigantic amount of experience to the stretch, and let's not forget jockey Victor Espinoza knows all about the pressure after gunning for the prestigious place in history last year atop California Chrome.

There seems to be a recipe in place for American Pharoah to shock the world. He didn't just live up to expectations Saturday—he exceeded them. The Triple Crown is an elusive, brutal stretch, but all signs point to American Pharoah and his surrounding factors being more than up to task.

A lot can change, but right now, it's right to believe the hype around American Pharoah's bid at history.

Stats and information via KentuckyDerby.com unless otherwise specified.