Kentucky Derby 2015: Results, Payout Info, Highlights and Triple Crown Odds

After sampling glory in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill downs, American Pharoah’s Triple Crown chances have already started to be assessed.

The pre-race favourite in the Run for the Roses made good on his hype, reeling in Firing Line and Dortmund in the final stages of the 10-furlong chase. It was the first leg in the coveted triumvirate of titles, and Bob Baffert—the colt’s trainer—will be hoping his horse can make it a very special year with wins in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

Here’s a reminder of how Pharoah triumphed in the 141st edition of the Derby, the full race results and how the race purse was split between the placing horses:

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

Total Purse	Winner's Purse	Runner-Up Purse	Third-Place Purse	Fourth-Place Purse
$2 million	$1.24 million	$400,000	$200,000	$100,000

All eyes will now turn to the Preakness on May 16. The last horse to complete this trio of illustrious titles was Affirmed back in 1978, meaning that if Pharoah can pass the post first in both of the aforementioned events, it’d be a truly remarkable feat of racing.

These are the odds for the Derby winner to go on and complete the box set of thoroughbred racing titles:

American Pharoah to win Triple Crown
Yes	9-4
No	29-100

The man who was aboard the colt for his illustrious victory at Churchill Downs is probably the ideal candidate to lead this charge toward glory. Victor Espinoza came so close to winning all three in the saddle of California Chrome last year, but after winning both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, he injured his foot coming out of the gate at Belmont.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

As such, Espinoza should be ready for every possible outcome, and in Pharoah, he’ll have a ride that is bristling with quality. Indeed, Baffert had plenty of praise for the Derby winner as he looked ahead to the Preakness, per Tom Pedulla of America’s Best Racing:

"

If you run well in the Derby, it means your horse is in top shape. He was just born with a lot of talent. He floats over the ground. He’s just different.

What we saw yesterday was that he is not one-dimensional, which is so nice to have. He’s quick. He’s handy. You can move on him at any time.

"

These adaptable set of attributes will certainly stand the three-year-old in excellent stead as he bids to win all three of the marquee races. After all, each course brings renewed expectation, a set of bespoke challenges and a group of quality opponents who are also bidding to etch their names into history by sampling glory.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

But the omens are good for Pharoah ahead of the Preakness. After all, California Chrome backed up a Derby triumph with a win there, as did I’ll Have Another in 2012. As such, perhaps it is little surprise to see the Run for the Roses champion as an early 71-100 favourite for that race, per Odds Shark.

A win at the Pimlico circuit would send hype into overdrive surrounding Pharoah, but it wouldn’t make the Triple Crown cut and dry. Indeed, since Affirmed last won all three in 1978, 12 horses have picked up the opening two legs before failing to seize history in Baltimore.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

According Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated, this horse is well-capable of sweeping the board:

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The 9 ½-furlong Preakness distance shouldn’t be an issue for Baffert’s star colt, as Espinoza seemed to hold a lot back until the final furlong at Churchill Downs. He certainly has the speed to triumph there, but Belmont is a track that has scuppered the dreams of many a potential Triple Crown champion.

As such, all those associated with Pharoah must ensure feet are kept firmly on the ground in the buildup to their trip to Maryland. But a win there would make it extremely difficult not to look ahead to a history-making date at Belmont Park.