Preakness 2015: Analyzing Results from American Pharoah's Victory at Pimlico

Following his victory in a grueling Kentucky Derby, American Pharoah went on to shine in the Preakness Stakes, torching the field by seven lengths on a rain-soaked track at Pimlico.

Winning by such a large margin is even more impressive when considering the obstacles Pharoah was forced to overcome early in the race. He started from the dreaded No. 1 gate—a position that has only yielded one winner (Tabasco Cat in 1994) since 1961. Getting out of that position unscathed was even more challenging considering the track's muddy conditions.

As we know, not only did Pharoah avoid getting pinned against the rail on the inside or stuck in some momentum-killing traffic, but he burst to the front of the pack and never looked back, notching a wire-to-wire finish that produced these results:

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

Before we jump into some analysis regarding Pharoah's run at Pimlico, let's first take a look back at his sparkling performance. After all, it's most certainly worthy of another look:

You'll notice Pharoah didn't have the cleanest break out of the No. 1 hole, as he started a bit inside. Luckily, veteran jockey Victor Espinoza had the reins, and he quickly took matters into his own hands.

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Espinoza steered Pharoah back on course, and once steadied, he wisely asked the colt to run. Pharoah displayed some staggering acceleration despite a soggy track, quickly picking up his pace to soar past the pack and settle into the lead position. While that move was risky, Espinoza understood the great amount of stamina he was working with, and it paid off in a big way.

Following the first turn, the jockey made an intelligent decision and eased up on Pharoah's pace. While this allowed other contenders to make up a bit of ground on the leader, Pharoah never relinquished the lead. This move salvaged stamina for the late-race push Espinoza knew Pharoah would need to make.

With several strong horses in tow entering the final turn, Espinoza asked Pharoah to run once more. The colt complied and began to glide down the final stretch, pulling away from the pack with relative ease to emerge victorious by a decisive seven lengths.

Mike Stewart/Associated Press

The colt's run at Pimlico was arguably even more impressive than his showing at Churchill Downs, and Espinoza shared his thoughts on the race during an interview with Christine Brennan of USA Today:

"

I pushed him to the front. As soon as I took the lead, that was it. He was very comfortable cruising around at a high speed. Each race, I learn something new about him, and it surprised me the way he runs. Today was an amazing race for him, but I couldn't really see how far I was in front because there was so much water in my eyes.

"

The surprising Tale of Verve earned runner-up honors after making a huge push from the rear of the pack during the last half mile. His phenomenal closing ability allowed him to surpass third-place finisher Divining Rod by a length down the final stretch.

Dortmund's lackluster showing earned him fourth place. He hung with the lead pack throughout the majority of the race but fell off the pace at the end after running out of steam. It was a disappointing day for Firing Line, as the colt stumbled out of the gate, lost his momentum and was never a factor after that, finishing in seventh.

The day certainly belonged to Pharoah, and following the colt's brilliant run, talk of a potential end to the 37-year Triple Crown drought commenced. According to Odds Shark, Pharoah has 91-100 odds to win the Belmont Stakes and become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

Winning at Belmont Park is no easy task. Since Affirmed notched his Triple Crown triumph, a total of 13 horses have won the first two legs only to leave Belmont empty-handed. Interestingly enough, Pharoah's trainer, Bob Baffert, was responsible for three of those horses, and Espinoza was on the reins of two. The duo worked together during War Emblem's run in 2002.

Can they make it work this time around? The experience is there, and Pharoah certainly has the talent. If the colt can deal with another quick turnaround and display his impeccable stamina once again, we could witness history on June 6.