Preakness Results 2015: Twitter Reaction to 140th Race from Pimlico

Inside post. A torrential downpour. Two Kentucky Derby contenders in the field and looking to play spoiler. No matter how many obstacles are put in front of American Pharoah, he just keeps on beating them all.

Pharoah pulled away from Tale of Verve and Divining Rod on the final straight stretch, overcoming his unfortunate draw and a severe rainstorm to take the 2015 Preakness Stakes. The Derby winner is the first horse to win from the inside post at Pimlico since 1994. He'll move on to the Belmont Stakes, where he'll try to overcome nearly four decades without a Triple Crown winner.

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

The Cauldron's Twitter feed captured a shot of Pharoah's dominant win:

Racing on a sloppy track for the second time in his career, American Pharoah did not appear affected in the slightest. Jockey Victor Espinoza got him off to a strong start, building an early lead as a majority of the field took a conservative approach in the mud. Once out in front, Pharoah was able to fend off hard-charging contenders in a slow middle of the race before turning on the jets in a brilliant final run.

ESPN's Chris Fowler noted how impressive the win was given the terrain:    

While easy to appreciate from our perspective, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick asks an astute question:

Pharoah moves on to the Belmont, looking to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Lost Lettermen's Twitter feed points out the length of the Belmont might make things a little more difficult than the Preakness: 

Indeed, the Belmont has been the place many Triple Crown efforts have gone to die. ESPN Stats & Info noted he's the 14th winner since Affirmed to start the season 2-of-2:

California Chrome last year was the most recent horse to take the Preakness and Kentucky Derby before losing at the Belmont. In many ways equally touted, California Chrome struggled from the outset at the Belmont and wound up well outside contention in fourth place. Writer Jeff Moss, however, says American Pharoah is on a different level:

"

I'm a huge Chrome slap but he's no American Pharoah. I figured Tonalist would beat him. https://t.co/VbmmtPdizI

— Jeff Moss (@JeffMossDSR) May 16, 2015"

It's been more than a decade since a Triple Crown has even been close to being completed at the Belmont. Smarty Jones' second-place finish in 2004 is the last time a potential Crown horse has finished inside the top three. Overall, there have been four instances of a horse completing two of the three legs before a second-place outing at the Belmont since 1978.

Dave Lozo of Bleacher Report properly contextualized what Pharoah's monologue would be if he were a typical athlete:

"

"I'm not thinking about a Triple Crown. I'm going to enjoy this win tonight then start preparing tomorrow for the Belmont." - a horse

— Dave Lozo (@DaveLozo) May 16, 2015"

Of course, trainer Bob Baffert carries plenty of his own weight into the Belmont. Three times before this year, Baffert has captured the Derby and Preakness. Three times, he's failed to complete the Triple Crown. 

That said, Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated noted how confident Baffert is in his horse:

DRF Derby's Twitter feed also highlighted what Baffert's win means to his historic legacy:

Baffert, an Arizona alum, received congratulations from head football coach Rich Rodriguez:

It's fair for Baffert and his team to take a moment and congratulate themselves, but their real work starts now. Baffert publicly maintained the Preakness is the easiest of the three Triple Crown events coming into the race. Now he has to prepare for the hardest.

History says that preparation will end in failure. On Saturday, though, American Pharoah proved once again historical context means little when you're this good.