Preakness 2015: Results and Video Highlights from Pimlico

A Hollywood-esque rain pelted Pimlico Saturday prior to the 2015 iteration of the Preakness Stakes before Bob Baffert's American Pharoah splashed through the mud to a victory fit for the big screen. 

The overwhelming favorite after a come-from-behind epic at Churchill Downs, American Pharoah now heads to New York for the Belmont and a chance to break a 37-year Triple Crown drought.

While the magnitude of the task ahead screams for the globe's attention, it doesn't mean the globe should turn away from the Preakness results just yet.

Here's a look at the full list of finishers and a race replay:

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 impressiveness of American Pharoah's start-to-finish dominance shouldn't go unnoticed considering a top-heavy field. 

Then again, it tends to depend on how one looks at the performance. When viewing the opening salvos of the race, it's easy for history to produce a raise of the eyebrows, as ESPN Stats & Info points out:

Shed in a different light, though, it's easy to believe the rain played a major role:

Either way, it's impressive on a quick turnaround that Baffert's top horse and jockey Victor Espinoza put on such a show, besting serious contenders from the Kentucky Derby, Dortmund and Firing Line.

Dortmund, American Pharoah's stablemate who won six races before Churchill Downs and performed well there, too, never found the footing he needed to put on one of his usual wire-to-wire efforts.

As the replay shows, he attempted to make a push, but what figures to be a combination of the conditions and simple fatigue ruined his chances.

Ditto for Firing Line and jockey Gary Stevens, a combo who led the pack down the stretch at Churchill Downs before American Pharoah's charge. There was no such bite from the duo Saturday, as they seemed to limp out of the gates and never put up much of a fight.

After, even Stevens sounded impressed with the effort put on by American Pharoah, per Tim Wilkin of the Albany Times Union:

While true, the sloppy conditions at least made room for lesser-known names to make pushes despite the field being considered quite top-heavy thanks to the presence of the Kentucky Derby's top three finishers.

The biggest early surprise was Calumet Farm's Mr. Z, directed by jockey Corey Nakatani. The duo put up a strong fight around the first bend, attempting to match American Pharaoh blow for blow and perhaps pin the favorite against the rail.

It didn't work out, and Mr. Z fell somewhat off the pace, but it's a memorable performance that will not soon be forgotten, as Churchill Downs announcer Travis Stone points out:

Also worth a pat on the back is the effort put on by Tale of Verve to steal second place after entering Pimlico with his maiden victory coming in April.

A long shot in the utmost sense, trainer Dallas Stewart never wavered in his belief owner Charles Fipke's horse could put up a strong fight in a small field. He said as much after the surprising result, per the Lexington Herald-Leader's Alicia Wincze Hughes:

For some of the owners and trainers who decided to skip the Kentucky Derby in the hopes of standing a better chance at the Preakness, the approach just didn't work out.

Take third-place finisher Divining Rod, for example. Jockey Javier Castellano produced a noticeable late push for a brief period of time, then fell back.

Based on the performance, trainer Arnaud Delacour doesn't sound like he wants to ship the horse to New York, per KY Derby Contenders:

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

So it goes at the middle leg of the Triple Crown, especially one touting a deeper field than usual and unpredictable conditions.

The focus of the sport now shifts to New York, where American Pharoah and some of the top performers from Pimlico will combine with those who skipped the trip to Baltimore to form what may be one of the best Belmont fields in recent memory.

Thanks to California Chrome and now American Pharoah, it's a fitting, more-popular-than-usual end to the biggest races of the year. If the unpredictable, surprise performances and more from the Preakness Stakes are any sign, the Belmont will be a must-see affair.

Stats and information via Preakness.com unless otherwise specified.