2015 Kentucky Derby: Run for the Roses Results and Preakness Stakes Predictions

The 141st running of the Kentucky Derby featured more depth and talent than most fields in recent memory, but in the end, no horse was able to top the favorite, as American Pharoah used a late push to take the Run For the Roses.

Many expected Firing Line and Dortmund to be among American Pharoah's top challengers, and that turned out to be the case, as the three of them battled it out down the stretch. American Pharoah ultimately proved to be too much, though, and he will now have an opportunity to capture the elusive Triple Crown.

The next step in that progression is winning the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, so here is a rundown of things to expect at Pimlico Race Course, as well as a final look at how the Kentucky Derby played out.

Kentucky Derby Results

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

Preakness Stakes Predictions

American Pharoah Will Win Again

All eyes are generally on the Kentucky Derby winner at the Preakness Stakes, and that will once again be the case with American Pharoah. While many horses have failed to live up to expectations in the past, this super-colt has all the makings of a horse who will take the first two legs of the Triple Crown.

It seems like a given that American Pharoah will be entered into the Pimlico field, and trainer Bob Baffert's comments suggest that will be the case, according to Jonathan Lintner of The Courier-Journal:

American Pharoah will enter the Preakness having won five races in a row, and it will take a gargantuan effort in order to knock him off. It has become commonplace for the Derby winner to follow up with a Preakness triumph in recent years, as I'll Have Another did it in 2012, while California Chrome turned the trick in 2014.

Horse racing agent Terry Norman is of the mind that American Pharoah is in good shape entering the Preakness since he still had plenty in reserve after a slow-paced Kentucky Derby:

"

Preakness shouldn't be a problem - fractions weren't strong today - and there is hope he will get 1m4f. #TripleCrown #AmericanPharoah

— Terry Norman (@tjnnorman) May 2, 2015"

The biggest challenge for Triple Crown hopefuls tends to be the Belmont Stakes since it is a longer race and it comes on the heels of two other races. None of that should factor in when it comes to the Preakness, though.

American Pharoah proved he was the class of the field in the Kentucky Derby, and he will do that once again in the second Triple Crown event.

Dortmund and Firing Line Will Run

Rob Carr/Getty Images

There are always major question marks surrounding Kentucky Derby horses and whether they will run in the Preakness Stakes. The expectation seems to be that Dortmund and Firing Line will, and it is certainly tough to imagine either of them being held out after how well they performed at Churchill Downs.

Dortmund's case is an interesting one since, like American Pharaoh, he is also trained by Baffert. It can be argued that the massive and powerful Dortmund is the biggest threat to Baffert's Triple Crown hopes in an ironic twist of fate.

Baffert is essentially at the mercy of Dortmund's owner, though, and there is little doubt that Kaleem Shah wants his horse in the field. According to Melissa Hoppert of The New York Times, Baffert is ready to oblige:

In addition to that, Jay Privman of Daily Racing Form is under the impression that Firing Line will be present in Baltimore after running second in Louisville, Kentucky:

As exciting as the Kentucky Derby was, the Preakness will arguably be even more captivating. Not only does it figure to have the top three Derby finishers in the field, but it will also have more riding on it since American Pharoah is now vying for the Triple Crown.

American Pharoah proved to be better than bother Firing Line and Dortmund in the Run For the Roses, albeit not by much. Either of them could potentially knock off the Derby winner, and that means American Pharoah will have to earn it once again.

Divining Rod Will Pose Biggest Threat

Garry Jones/Associated Press

American Pharoah will have his hooves full if Dortmund and Firing Line compete in the Preakness as expected, but his biggest challenge could come in the form of a horse who was not present for the Kentucky Derby.

Divining Rod is a three-year-old colt coming off a victory in the Lexington Stakes, and all signs point toward him being part of the Preakness Stakes field.

According to Lintner, Divining Rod has been on track to take part in the Preakness since well before the Run For the Roses:

Nothing appears to have changed on that front, and trainer Arnaud Delacour feels good about where his horse stands currently, per BloodHorse.com:

"

The horse is doing very well. He breezed (May 2), and right now I am leaning toward the Preakness. I think he's great. I don't want to jinx myself, but at the moment he's doing very well. He has matured quite a bit and he understands more now what's going on. ... The race in the Lexington was a very good confidence booster for him. I think he put it all together, that he needed to relax and finish, and I think that really helped him.

"

One thing that Divining Rod will have going for him in the Preakness is that he will be better rested than the likes of American Pharoah, Firing Line and Dortmund. That could also be a detriment in terms of form and rhythm, but it should give him more juice down the stretch.

American Pharoah is still the horse to beat and the likely winner, but Divining Rod will give him a run for his money as a fresh horse.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.