Preakness Entries 2015: Latest Purse Payout, Vegas Betting Odds and Field Lineup

The 2015 Preakness Stakes is one of the most exciting in recent memory due to American Pharoah's Triple Crown potential, but also because it is the richest race in the 140-year history of the Run for the Black-Eyed Susans.

It is quite clear what the goal is for American Pharoah and his handlers, but there is plenty on the line for the other seven horses in the field as well. Not only do their respective teams want the glory of knocking off a horse of American Pharoah's caliber, but they undoubtedly know how much money is at stake as well.

Here is a look at how the entire Preakness Stakes field stacks up, as well as a rundown of how the ample purse money will be divided.

Preakness Purse Payout

According to Preakness.com, the overall purse for the Preakness Stakes has increased from $1 million to $1.5 million for 2015. Here is a breakdown of how that purse will be distributed, courtesy of Pimlico.com:

Place	Percentage of Purse	Total Payout
1	60%	$900,000
2	20%	$300,000
3	11%	$165,000
4	6%	$90,000
5	3%	$45,000

Preakness Field and Odds

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	5-6
2	Dortmund	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	15-4
3	Mr. Z	Corey Nakatani	D. Wayne Lukas	25-1
4	Danzig Moon	Julien Leparoux	Mark Casse	16-1
5	Tale of Verve	Joel Rosario	Dallas Stewart	50-1
6	Bodhisattva	Trevor McCarthy	Jose Corrales	40-1
7	Divining Rod	Javier Castellano	Arnaud Delacour	16-1
8	Firing Line	Gary Stevens	Simon Callaghan	17-4

Horses to Watch

American Pharoah

While the Kentucky Derby may not have been American Pharoah's best race, he still found a way to win by digging deep and coming from behind. If he is going to win the Preakness, though, he may need a more convincing showing.

That certainly won't be easy since he ended up with a less-than-ideal post draw of No. 1. It is possible that the post won't be much of a factor since there are only eight horses in the field, but trainer Bob Baffert admitted that it wasn't his preferred draw, according to Dan Wolken of USA Today:

"I never like the 1 hole," Baffert said. "That's the first time I've ever drawn the rail here. I've been so lucky. You don't like to see it, but if he's the best horse we'll find out."

Baffert has also made things more difficult on American Pharoah himself by entering Dortmund into the race. The massive colt finished third in the Kentucky Derby, and there is no question that he is talented enough to threaten the Derby winner at Pimlico Race Course.

Even though Baffert is well aware that Dortmund's presence makes the pursuit of a Triple Crown more challenging, he believes he owes it to the viewers to put forth the best product possible, per Ray Paulick of PaulickReport.com:

Baffert's feelings on the matter are admirable, and if American Pharoah ends up winning the Preakness, then he will have earned it based on how strong the level of competition is.

There are many things working against American Pharoah, but that means a victory Saturday would give him a ton of momentum entering the Belmont Stakes.

Danzig Moon

Aside from American Pharoah, Dortmund and Firing Line are viewed by most as the likeliest candidates to win the Preakness Stakes. That is understandable since they were clearly the three best horses in the Kentucky Derby, but Danzig Moon's run shouldn't be forgotten.

The talented colt finished fifth at Churchill Downs, which served as proof that he could compete with the top horses after solid finishes in the Blue Grass Stakes and Tampa Bay Derby as well.

The Kentucky Derby may have been Danzig Moon's coming-out party, as trainer Mark Casse seems to believe that his horse is finally reaching his potential, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader:

One of the main concerns regarding Danzig Moon is the same one that observers have about American Pharoah, Dortmund, Firing Line and even Mr. Z. All of them are working on short rest since they ran in the Kentucky Derby just two weeks ago.

Per Churchill Downs announcer Travis Stone, though, every indication is that Danzig Moon is in fantastic form:

If that is the case, then he has a fighting chance to emerge as a contender at Pimlico. That is especially true since he also got a solid post draw in the middle of the pack.

Provided jockey Julien Leparoux is able to take advantage of it, then Danzig Moon will be a sleeper horse worth keeping an eye on.

Tale of Verve

Garry Jones/Associated Press

In a field with several strong horses that have a legitimate chance to win, there is little doubt that Tale of Verve is the biggest underdog.

He has only one win under his belt, and he has never run in a race that even comes close to approaching the importance of the Preakness. Despite that, trainer Dallas Stewart has no reservations about seeing how his colt will perform against the very best, according to Jennie Rees of The Courier-Journal. Stewart said:

"

You won't know until you try. And we didn't get a chance (in the Kentucky Derby) to answer those questions. ... You can't think about what everybody else has done, how good everybody else is. That has no part of my life and no bearing on what I do.

"

Also, while nobody can know for sure how he will fare until the race is run, Claire Novak of BloodHorse.com noted that he appears to be up to the task physically:

Few are giving Tale of Verve a chance because of his spotty resume, but horse racing is a crazy sport that has yielded even more surprising winners in the past.

There are absolutely no expectations attached to Tale of Verve and all-world jockey Joel Rosario, so they will be able to throw caution to the wind and perhaps shock the world in the process. 

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