Preakness 2015: Full Results, Analysis and Video Highlights from Pimlico Race

American Pharoah's bid to become the first horse to take the Triple Crown in 37 years is alive and well following the 2015 Preakness Stakes.

The Kentucky Derby winner emerged victorious in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown despite the combination of an ominous starting position and a rain-soaked track. Only one horse had won from the No. 1 gate—Tabasco Cat in 1994—since 1961, and the fact that Pharoah was able to overcome that obstacle on a muddy surface was nothing short of impressive.

Even famed trainer Bob Baffert was awestruck by his horse's sparkling performance, and he shared his thoughts during an interview with Christine Brennan of USA Today:

"

I've never been through anything like that. That was crazy. I thought, I don't know what's going to happen with the thunder. These horses, I could tell they didn't like it when they get pelted like that. They showed a picture of the track (on TV), with like a river running on the rail, and I thought, He's got to run through that? All these things were going through my mind, and then, as they were turning down the backside, when I saw those ears go up, I thought, 'Oh, yeah.' That was a magical moment, watching him come down that stretch.

"

Here's a look at the complete race results following Pharoah's brilliant run at Pimlico:

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

You read that right. Pharoah notched a seven-length victory after starting from the No. 1 gate on a drenched track against a very strong field of competitors. His performance deserves another look:

While Pharoah is most certainly an extremely talented horse, we can't downplay the significance of jockey Victor Espinoza's role in the Preakness—especially in the beginning of the race.

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Pharoah needed a near-perfect start to avoid getting pinned against the rail and stuck behind traffic—something that would have ended his Triple Crown aspirations immediately. The colt broke a bit inside out of the gate, but Espinoza quickly pulled him back on course. The jockey then asked Pharoah to run, and the duo soared along the rail, passing the entire field en route to the lead position.

While that may have been a risky strategy for most horses, Espinoza knew Pharoah had the endurance necessary to pull off the maneuver and have enough left in the tank to finish strong. With that in mind, the jockey made a wise decision following the first turn, allowing Pharoah to slow his pace to salvage stamina. This allowed the field to gain ground, but Pharoah never relinquished his grasp on the lead.

Finally, around the final turn, Espinoza asked Pharoah to run one more time. The colt complied, and his silky-smooth gallop quickly propelled him far beyond the field, eventually winning by a full seven lengths.

Rob Carr/Getty Images

The surprising Tale of Verve earned a runner-up finish. The long shot put together an extremely brilliant run down the final stretch of the race, coming from way behind the lead pack to surpass Divining Rod for second. Had Tale of Verve been able to get out to a better start, he may have been much more of a factor in the end.

As for Dortmund and Firing Line—the race's favorites behind Pharoah—it was a disappointing day. Dortmund held his ground near the lead pack for the majority of the race, but just like his showing at Churchill Downs, he ran out of gas down the final stretch and fell farther behind. Firing Line lost his momentum after a poor start and was never a factor.

Firing Line jockey Gary Stevens had this curt comment during a post-race interview with Preakness.com, "We stumbled out of the gate and that was our race today."

Now, focus will shift to the Belmont Stakes on June 6. Since Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978, a total of 13 horses have won the first two legs of the Triple Crown only to stumble at Belmont Park. Interestingly, this will be the second time the duo of Baffert and Espinoza have entered the Belmont Stakes with a Triple Crown contender (War Emblem in 2002).

Pharoah's performance in the Preakness was even more brilliant than his showing in the Kentucky Derby. That's a great sign considering fatigue is always a factor with a short turnaround between races. That trend will need to continue in the Belmont Stakes, as Pharoah will have to compete with some fresh-legged competitors looking to play spoiler.

Get ready for a riveting conclusion to this year's Triple Crown.