Preakness Results 2015: Winner, Final Race Times and Purse Payout

A tough No. 1 post draw and a downpour of rain couldn't shake American Pharoah, as he coasted to victory at the 2015 Preakness Stakes in dominating wire-to-wire fashion.

Tale of Verve came out of nowhere to finish in second, and Divining Rod followed close by in third, but nobody in the field seriously tested American Pharoah—who won by seven lengths. Kentucky Derby runners-up Dortmund and Firing Line never posed a threat, and his biggest challenge came from Mr. Z before the first turn. 

A fast pace at the start made way for one of the slower races in Preakness history, as The Downey Profile noted:

After fulfilling his odds-on favorite status rather comfortably in mucky conditions, the Zayat Stables-owned colt is one win away from shattering a 37-year Triple Crown drought. But before the inevitable look-ahead to three weeks from now at the Belmont Stakes, let's break down everything that happened Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.

2015 Preakness Stakes Results

Place	No.	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Lengths
1	1	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	----
2	5	Tale of Verve	Joel Rosario	Dallas Stewart	7
3	7	Divining Rod	Javier Castellano	Arnaud Delacour	8
4	2	Dortmund	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	15 1/2
5	3	Mr. Z	Corey Nakatani	D. Wayne Lukas	17 1/4
6	4	Danzig Moon	Julien Leparoux	Mark Casse	18 1/4
7	8	Firing Line	Gary Stevens	Simon Callaghan	45
8	6	Bodhisattva	Trevor McCarthy	Jose Corrales	48 1/4

Payouts

Horse	Win	Place	Show
American Pharoah	$3.80	$3.40	$2.80
Tale of Verve	----	$19.00	$8.80
Divining Rod	----	----	$5.20

For an entire afternoon full of races at Pimlico, potential rain made way for ideal conditions. But sudden storms hit the track just minutes before post time, ensuring a sloppy 140th Preakness.

After three days full of wondering how American Pharoah would fare starting from the No. 1 post, another question stacked up in the last moment—how would he react to the sudden slop?

Neither the post nor the weather seemed to play a part. He set the pace out of the gates, held off every challenge and turned it into a snoozer down the final stretch as he won by a full seven lengths.

Saturday's result means that a Triple Crown hopeful will descend upon Belmont for the third time in four years, marking yet another potential threat to end the drought, as Bleacher Report noted:

Everyone expected an aggressive start from American Pharoah, who had to avoid being boxed in on the rail by the dangerous Dortmund, but the sloppy conditions only amplified that need. 

Getting boxed in on the rail isn't the worst thing, but getting mud kicked up from a horse in front could be disastrous. In retrospect, the last-minute rain forced a change in jockey Victory Espinoza's game plan, per Eric Crawford of WDRB-Louisville:

Espinoza did so with ease, pushing the Derby winner into the lead out of the gates while Mr. Z challenged him momentarily. 

With Dortmund trudging along in the middle and Firing Line stumbling out of the gates, American Pharoah's biggest threats never posed much of one. The field caught up to him briefly as the final stretch came, but only because the champion saved the energy necessary to blow out everyone else down the stretch.

As it turned out, the owner's pre-race talk proved to be right on the money, with American Pharoah posting a much more impressive victory than in Churchill Downs, per the Blood-Horse's Eric Mitchell:

Saturday continued an incredible streak by trainer Bob Baffert, who has now won the Derby and the Preakness with all four horses that he's attempted the feat with. Obviously, each of them fell short in the ever-difficult Belmont Park.

Also no stranger to coming within a hair of the Triple Crown is Espinoza, who rode California Chrome last year. Perhaps the third time is the charm, as ESPN's Chris Fallica noted:

Intrigue always spikes in the sport when a horse is on the cusp of history, and with good reason—many of the folks watching have never witnessed a Triple Crown triumph, as ESPN's Darren Rovell noted:

Figuring that the two biggest challengers didn't quite challenge and the victory came so convincingly, American Pharoah looks more dangerous than before to end that 37-year drought. But 13 horses have tried and failed this very feat in that span for a reason.

Not only does the 1 ½-mile Belmont track pose a marathon-like task for a horse fresh off two taxing runs in a five-week span, but a stable of contenders have skipped one or both of the first Triple Crown legs to set themselves up for Belmont. It's more than just a test of greatness—it's a test of legend, as many great horses have failed.

American Pharoah has earned his shot and will get it. The Belmont Stakes will certainly be better off for it.