2015 Preakness: Final Race Chart, Finishing Times and Purse

An unfavorable post draw, two familiar foes and a sudden downpour minutes before the 2015 Preakness Stakes couldn't rain on American Pharoah's parade. He ran away with the Triple Crown's second jewel on a sloppy Pimlico Race Course track Saturday afternoon to move one step closer to history.

Tale of Verve and Divining Rod mustered up a late surge to notch place and show finishes, respectively, but no horse was within seven lengths of the winner when he finished the 9.5 furlongs. Dortmund and Firing Line—runners-up at the Kentucky Derby—never seriously challenged American Pharoah, along with the rest of the unmatched field.

Up next is the daunting task of completing the Triple Crown trifecta at the Belmont Stakes, where 13 horses have tried and failed since Affirmed last accomplished the feat in 1978. But before we dive into those treacherous waters for a three-week hype fest, let's take a closer look at how things unfolded at the Preakness.

2015 Preakness Stakes Race Chart

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 and Purse

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

Place	Payout
American Pharoah (1st)	$900,000 (60%)
Tale of Verve (2nd)	$300,000 (20%)
Divining Rod (3rd)	$165,000 (11%)
Dortmund (4th)	$90,000 (6%)
Mr. Z (5th)	$45,000 (3%)

Purse information courtesy of TheTripleCrown.com.

A tough challenge was on American Pharoah's plate from the moment that Wednesday's post positions draw landed him in the No. 1 gate. But the task only got harder minutes before the race, when storms soaked the race track and guaranteed a sloppy two minutes.

Getting off to a strong start was needed in order to avoid falling behind Dortmund, who assumed the No. 2 post. But the rain only amplified the need to start in front, as it produced a late strategical switch from jockey Victor Espinoza, according to Eric Crawford of WDRB:

That's just what Espinoza did, pushing his horse from the gate to take an early lead. American Pharoah answered the bell by setting the pace, and held off an early challenge from Mr. Z to hold onto the lead.

Mr. Z's pace threatened to give American Pharoah fits in the early goings before he fought him off, and never got challenged much from him after that. But Ed DeRosa of TwinSpires.com admitted he looked like a big threat early:

From then on, it was smooth sailing for the leader. While horses like Divining Rod looked to be mounting a surge as the leaders came around the final turn, that was only because American Pharoah saved enough in the tank for a dominant late run to victory.

However, it still produced the slowest time in the Preakness in more than 60 years, as ESPN Stats and Info noted:

Meanwhile, American Pharoah's biggest expected challengers never proved to be that. Firing Line stumbled from the opening gate and never recovered, while Dortmund couldn't get his legs under him down the stretch to make anything of his run.

Tale of Verve's seven-length defeat proved to be the closest run to American Pharoah, and it came in surprise fashion. His trainer left no doubt that his horse would be ready for the Belmont in three weeks, as per the Louisville Courier-Journal:

Churchill Downs provided an impossibly tough challenge for American Pharoah as he had to fight from the outside to come from behind for victory, but the Preakness didn't follow suit. His impressive wire-to-wire victory now poses the question of whether he can muster up one more performance like it in three weeks at Belmont Park.

Perhaps the biggest indication of that is how the horse responds the first morning after a race, and all signs there pointed up, as Zayat Stables racing manager Justin Zayat reported after talking with trainer Bob Baffert:

Rebounding from two Triple Crown-leg victories in the span of two weeks to win at the Belmont is a test that 13 horses have been able to complete since 1978. And considering the field should be much larger at Belmont than it was at Pimlico on Saturday, American Pharoah eyes even more history-making, as Chris Fallica noted:

The next three weeks should produce endless storylines about American Pharoah's chances, and history certainly isn't on his side when the struggles of California Chrome and I'll Have Another over the last four years are analyzed. But even winning the Derby and the Preakness is a cause for boisterous celebration, which American Pharoah has earned.

If he aspires to put one final bow on his legend before the summer is over, however, it will take one more incredible run.