Preakness 2015: Early Belmont Predictions After Pimlico Race Results

American Pharoah made history by becoming the 14th horse since 1978 to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown with his victory at the Preakness Stakes. Now, the three-year-old will look to complete what those others couldn't by conquering the Belmont Stakes on June 6. 

Saturday's run at Pimlico was an eye-opening moment for anyone who doubted American Pharoah. In unfavorable weather conditions thanks to a torrential downpour that began as the horses came out of the stables onto the track, he destroyed the eight-horse field by seven lengths. 

Position	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Lengths
1	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	-
2	Tale of Verve	Joel Rosario	Dallas Stewart	7
3	Divining Rod	Javier Castellano	Arnaud Delacour	8
4	Dortmund	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert	15 1/2
5	Mr. Z	Corey Nakatani	D. Wayne Lukas	17 1/4
6	Danzig Moon	Juilen Leparoux	Mark Casse	18 1/4
7	Firing Line	Gary Stevens	Simon Callaghan	45
8	Bodhisattva	Trevor McCarthy	Jose Corrales	48 1/4

Putting this run in more impressive light, Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports noted that American Pharoah and jockey Victor Espinoza didn't even get a clean break out of the always-dangerous first gate:

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Drawing the No. 1 post left open the specter of being buried on the rail with nowhere to run – a major complication for a naturally fast horse with a eyebrow-raising stride. So Espinoza hoped to hustle American Pharoah out of the gate and away from trouble.

He didn't break with complete alacrity, but Dortmund struggled with the wet surface out of the No. 2 hole and was squeezed back as American Pharoah took charge of the space. That left Pharoah and Mr. Z contesting the early pace, as anticipated, and the early fractions were quick – 22.9 seconds for the quarter mile, 46.49 for the half mile.

"

Espinoza is the silent hero in American Pharoah's quest for a Triple Crown, which isn't a surprise since this will mark his third attempt after falling short at the Belmont Stakes with War Emblem in 2002 and California Chrome in 2014. 

After the Preakness win, Espinoza said that he changed the original plan for American Pharoah when the weather shifted, according to Rick Snider of the Washington Post:

As impressive as the horse has looked dating back to last September with six straight wins, he will have to overcome two major red flags to be the first horse since Affirmed to win the Triple Crown. 

First, Espinoza's track record in the race isn't encouraging. California Chrome breezed through the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, only to finish fourth at Belmont Park.

The 42-year-old jockey had a contentious exchange with a reporter who brought up his career mark on the track last year before the Belmont, per Johnette Howard of ESPN.com:

"

"I haven't run a mile and a half before? You better do your homework," Espinoza scoffed to a reporter.

"Well, I know you're 2-67 on this racetrack for your career," the reporter countered. "Does that mean anything?"

"Maybe to you," Espinoza shot back. "Not to me."

"

That particular exchange brings up the second red flag. The Belmont Stakes is a beast of a race, covering 12 furlongs and testing every ounce of strength and will a horse has in his body. There's a reason 13 horses have tried and failed to finish the Triple Crown in the past 37 years, and it's not just bad luck or the racing gods not wanting it. 

American Pharoah will be trying to conquer the 1 ½-mile race, his third in five weeks. That's asking a lot of a horse, which only further illustrates why no one has been able to pull off the feat since Affirmed. 

There are also likely to be fresh horses running in the Belmont Stakes after skipping the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, which only compounds the odds against American Pharoah. 

And yet it's hard to get sucked into his orbit based on what has happened, particularly over the last two weeks and even going back to last September. 

It will be a long time before the entire field for the Belmont Stakes is set, so it's impossible right now to say what the competition will look like for American Pharoah. Yet he conquered what was considered one of the deepest Kentucky Derby fields in years. 

Other trainers, like the legendary D. Wayne Lukas, have said since the beginning of Triple Crown season that American Pharoah has all the ingredients necessary to win all three races. That's the ultimate show of respect from opponents. 

Until someone knocks off American Pharoah, he has to be the choice to win at Belmont. History may not be on his side, but none of those other horses have what he has.