Preakness 2015 Payout: Dissecting Prize-Money Purse and Final Race Results
American Pharoah lived up to his pre-race billing to win the Preakness Stakes by seven lengths in Baltimore on Saturday, overcoming ferocious elements to stay on course for the Triple Crown.
The Kentucky Derby champion was unfortunately handed the rail ahead of the race, before a torrential downpour made his job even harder.
However, under jockey Victor Espinoza, American Pharoah put together a stunning ride to win convincingly, as we see below.
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Trainer Bob Baffert scooped up the $900,000 winner’s share of the prize fund, with Tale of Verve and Divining Rod also chalking up six-figure payouts—prize money via TheTripleCrown.com.
Here’s a look at the full results and prize money from yet another exciting Preakness race:
| Place | No. | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Prize Money |
| 1 | 1 | American Pharoah | Victor Espinoza | Bob Baffert | $900,000 (60%) |
| 2 | 5 | Tale of Verve | Joel Rosario | Dallas Stewart | $300,000 (20%) |
| 3 | 7 | Divining Rod | Javier Castellano | Arnaud Delacour | $165,000 (11%) |
| 4 | 2 | Dortmund | Martin Garcia | Bob Baffert | $90,000 (6%) |
| 5 | 3 | Mr. Z | Corey Nakatani | D. Wayne Lukas | $45,000 (3%) |
| 6 | 4 | Danzig Moon | Julien Leparoux | Mark Casse | ----- |
| 7 | 8 | Firing Line | Gary Stevens | Simon Callaghan | ----- |
| 8 | 6 | Bodhisattva | Trevor McCarthy | Jose Corrales | ----- |
As American Pharoah was handed trap No. 1, getting off to a fast start was absolutely crucial.
Luckily, he recovered from a slow emergence out of the blocks to cement an early lead over eventual fifth-place finisher Mr. Z.
It was then that Espinoza knew that American Pharoah was going to be crowned the champion, as Paul Gittings of CNN reported: “He broke a little tiny bit slow, and then I pushed him to go to the front. As soon as I took the lead, that was it.”
Espinoza will once again be on American Pharoah’s back when the Belmont Stakes comes around on June 6, aiming to secure the Triple Crown with one more win.
If the colt does cross the line first, he’d become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to claim the coveted prize and just the 12th of all time—per Gittings.
The way that he’s performed throughout the entire year suggests that the Triple Crown is something of an inevitability, though, as he proved that even when luck isn’t on his side, he can still produce the goods.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick suggested that he should really have rubbed in his dominance more as he crossed the line:
American Pharoah was the overwhelming favourite going into the race and more than lived up to his billing, but one horse who didn’t follow the script was runner-up Tale of Verve.
The colt entered the race without any graded stakes experience and was expected to be an also-ran but produced a stunning surge at the final turn to come in second.
Daily Racing Form’s Matt Bernier was so shocked by the performance that he was rather lost for words on Twitter:
The second-place finish saw trainer Dallas Stewart and Co. take $300,000, with the future now looking bright.
Firing Line, who performed well in the Kentucky Derby, was expected to give American Pharoah a run for his money on Saturday, but he ended up languishing back in seventh place.
British trainer Simon Callaghan blamed the torrid conditions for the result, as the Lexington Herald-Leader revealed:
Dortmund was also a bit disappointing, as he finished a long way back of American Pharoah, failing to get going from the start.
The day belonged to Espinoza, Baffert and their prize colt, though, who now needs to recharge ahead of Belmont.
Two impressive victories will have undoubtedly taken their toll on American Pharoah, so resting up and preparing will be of ample importance.
All eyes will be on him come June 6, and based on this double dose of glory, American Pharoah may just be joining a list of all-time greats.
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