2015 Kentucky Derby: Examining Results and American Pharoah for Preakness Race

American Pharoah's brilliant run in the Kentucky Derby has brought out the romantics who cover sports and are yearning for a Triple Crown winner.

It is hard to believe that nearly four decades ago, Triple Crown winners occurred with some regularity. Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 1973 and became one of the sport's greatest legends. Seattle Slew won the same three races just four years later, and Affirmed did the same with 18-year-old Steve Cauthen in the saddle in 1978.

Since then, Triple Crown winners have been nonexistent, but hope is alive, as it almost always is for the Kentucky Derby winner.

There was a time when horse racing, along with baseball and boxing, dominated the American sports scene.  It may have been a long time ago, but the sport comes back to life every May, when the Triple Crown races commence.

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The sharp run of American Pharoah has given the sport a further jolt, and another victorious showing in the Preakness would raise the sport's status even further—at least temporarily.

The Kentucky Derby results were quite unusual last Saturday. Not only did the winner jump out of the gate from its No. 15 post position to settle in at third at the first point of call, third-place finisher Dortmund jumped to the lead early on, while Firing Line was second after the start.

Those three horses remained in that position throughout the race without a single interruption, and that's very unusual for any thoroughbred race, let alone the Kentucky Derby.

The Derby features a huge field with 16 horses or more on a regular basis, so it makes sense for contending horses to get off to good starts so they don't have to battle through 15 horses or more to get to the lead. But this was a most unusual race. The first quarter was run in 23.24 seconds and the half in 47.34, relatively easy times that did not tire out the leaders. As a result, they were able to stay in those top three positions without getting challenged until they hit the finish line.

Materiality figured to be vying for the lead in the early going, since he was fast and undefeated going into the race. He fell behind the pack at the start and was running from behind throughout. While he rallied from 17th to finish sixth, he was never a threat to the top three horses.

If trainer Todd Pletcher decides to run Materiality in the Preakness, he could be a threat to American Pharoah's Triple Crown chances.

Trainer Bob Baffert may be dreaming of a Triple Crown since his horse won the first leg, but he knows it's a long way from happening. 

American Pharoah is a versatile horse who got off to a good start at the Derby and took advantage of his position to win. The tight turns and shorter stretch run at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course also favor those who get off alertly. However, running with the lead is not a requirement for American Pharoah to win the Preakness. 

Dortmund had the lead through the top of the stretch, and he should remain a legitimate threat in the second leg of the Triple Crown. Also trained by Baffert, Dortmund could emerge as the favorite because the race sets up well for a front-runner.

Firing Line, trained by Simon Callaghan, is also a likely starter in Baltimore.

American Pharoah ran a powerful race in winning the Kentucky Derby and he came out of that race in good shape. He has not been as heavily raced as many of the top three-year-olds, so he does have a chance to compete for the Triple Crown.

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But he has not proven to be a super horse just yet, and there is no reason to anoint him as the sport's savior and talk about the Triple Crown with any sense of inevitability at this point.

He is likely to have at least three legitimate challengers in Dortmund, Firing Line and Materialism, and more could emerge in the next 12 days.

If American Pharoah survives the Preakness, there will be plenty of time to talk about a legitimate Triple Crown contender.