Preakness Race Replay, Highlights
Going into Saturday at Pimlico, it appeared the 2015 Preakness Stakes would be one of the most competitive in recent memory.
After all, it was the first time in quite a while the top three finishers at the Kentucky Derby decided to partake in the quick turnaround before a trip to New York for the Belmont Stakes. Bob Baffert sent out Dortmund despite American Pharoah's Triple Crown bid, and Firing Line chose to suit up, too.
Not only that, several big names who skipped the event at Churchill Downs to target Saturday's race figured to provide a strong boost in the level of competition.
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It just didn't work out that way thanks to rain and American Pharoah.
2015 Preakness Stakes Results and Replay
| 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 |
Is there any stopping American Pharoah?
It's a legitimate question now. Jockey Victor Espinoza produced a grueling start to the race in the sloppy conditions, ensuring surprising upstart Mr. Z didn't pinch him on the rail around the first bend.
Not that any horse would have stood a chance in the wake of his opening burst—just look at data provided by ESPN Stats & Info:
American Pharoah caught on early and just never looked back. It seemed near the final bend others were beginning to kick into high gear, but Espinoza responded in kind—such are the merits of dictating a race's pace—and blew away the field for a lengthy finish.
As the replay shows, Dortmund didn't get a strong push out of the gates; the result was his being bested at his own wire-to-wire approach at a shorter field than the Kentucky Derby.
The other major contender, Firing Line, never made a significant push, an unexpected development trainer Simon Callaghan accredits to the poor conditions, per the Lexington Herald-Leader:
After shocking the field and leading for a bit down the stretch at Churchill Downs, Firing Line and 52-year-old Gary Stevens couldn't get it going on a shorter track, but it's hard to know if they would have performed any better against such a game American Pharoah.
Instead, it was Tale of Verve and Divining Rod finishing in strong fashion. Both were underdogs, although when looking back at the replay it doesn't seem to matter much given the distance American Pharoah created.
Prize Money Info
| First | American Pharoah | $900,000 (60%) |
| Second | Tale of Verve | $300,000 (20%) |
| Third | Divining Rod | $165,000 (11%) |
| American Pharoah | $3.80 | $3.40 | $2.80 |
| Tale of Verve | ---- | $19.00 | $8.80 |
| Divining Rod | ---- | ---- | $5.20 |
Attention, folks who put coin on Tale of Verve—it's time to go play the lottery.
The Dallas Stewart-trained horse missed the Kentucky Derby because the powers in charge judged him not good enough to make the 20-horse field.
Whoops.
To be fair, Charles Fipke's horse didn't even win his maiden until April, so it was hard to see him competing well with the big boys. He did Saturday, though, in large part thanks to the presence of legendary jockey Joel Rosario up top.
Now it seems Tale of Verve will head to the Belmont Stakes.
“Some called us crazy, and Chuck [Fipke] even called me crazy, but I said, ‘Listen, you’ve got a crazy horse. You’ve got a great horse. You’ve got to go for it,'" Stewart said, per Jon Meoli of the Los Angeles Times.
Tale of Verve's sudden emergence and strong payout only makes the event in New York more confusing for bettors looking to earn even more or to recover losses from a sloppy event.
Baffert figures to come out in force one more time, and holdovers who skipped Pimlico, such as an array of Todd Pletcher-trained horses, figure to throw their names in the hat, too. These days, most are content to skip Pimlico for more rest and a stronger showing in New York, which makes the task more difficult for bettors, but more entertaining.
If the Preakness is any sign, the few weeks before the event in New York will prove quite the excruciating wait, especially with so many challengers in the way of a Triple Crown triumph.
Stats and information via Preakness.com unless otherwise specified.
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