• Triple Crown Contenders
• Triple Crown 2015 Winner
• Triple Crown Contenders 2015 Winner
• Triple Crown Contenders 2015 Results

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The 2015 Preakness Stakes, (run as the Xpressbet.com Preakness Stakes due to sponsorship^[1]), was the 140th running of the Preakness Stakes, promoted as the 'middle jewel'^[2] of thoroughbred horse racing's traditional Triple Crown, held two weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks before the Belmont Stakes. The race was held at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 16, 2015, and was televised on NBC.

The event carried a $1,500,000 purse.^[2] The winner was American Pharoah, who won by seven lengths with jockey Victor Espinoza aboard.^[3] The win by American Pharoah set up an attempt for the Triple Crown for the second time in two years. The Maryland Jockey Club reported a track record total attendance of 131,680, the second highest attendance for American thoroughbred racing events in North America during 2015.^[4]

Pre-race[edit]

TrainerBob Baffert confirmed on May 3 that the 2015 Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah came out of the Derby in good health and would be running the Preakness Stakes.^[5] The connections of the other top three finishers, Firing Line and Dortmund, announced they would challenge in the event.^[6]

Two contenders that did not appear in the Kentucky Derby were announced as probable entrants in late April: Grade IIILexington Stakes winner Divining Rod (owned by Lael Stable, trained by Arnaud Delacour, bred by Mr. and Mrs. Roy Jackson, ridden by jockey Julien Leparoux) and Listed Stakes Federico Tesio Stakes winner at Pimlico Bodhisattva (owned and trained by Jose Corrales, ridden by jockey Trevor McCarthy).^[6]

A week prior to the Preakness, other contenders were announced. These included fifth-placed Kentucky Derby competitor Danzig Moon and the also-eligible Tale of Verve who did not start in the Derby.^[7]

The draw for the race was held on May 13 and eight horses were entered.^[8] This was the smallest field in 15 years.^[9]American Pharoah drew the pole position and was installed as the morning line favorite.^[10] All entries carried 126 pounds.^[1][11]

Race description[edit]

Immediately prior to post time, the skies opened up with a heavy downpour and thunder, changing the track conditions.^[12] The infield and grandstands were evacuated shortly before post time due to concerns about spectators being struck by lightning.^[13] The last time the Preakness had been run on a sloppy track was in 1983.^[14] American Pharoah was the only horse in the field to have previously won under such conditions, having won the Rebel Stakes on a sloppy track.^[15] He had the lead within the first quarter-mile and was challenged by Mr. Z early on, but held the lead on the inside throughout the race. He was challenged by Dortmund and then Divining Rod, but American Pharoah broke from the pack in the homestretch and won by seven lengths, as Tale of Verve made a strong rally to overtake Divining Rod to place. Firing Line slipped badly at the start and was eased in the stretch.^[1] Baffert commented on American Pharoah's race, 'when I saw those ears go up [on the backside of the track], I thought, ‘Oh, yeah. Oh yeah.’” The win by American Pharoah set up an attempt for the Triple Crown for the second time in two years.^[12]

Due to weather conditions, the winning time of 1:58.46 was the slowest time since Hill Prince won in 1950 with a time of 1:59.20, and well off the record, set by Secretariat in 1973, of 1:53.00.^[16] The intensity of the rain was described in a post-race interview by Firing Line's rider, Gary Stevens, who explained that he weighed in at 120 pounds with equipment prior to the race, but was 135 pounds afterwards—without his helmet—and needed to empty water out of his riding boots following his weigh-out. Stevens added that the conditions made little difference to the outcome, however, saying 'it would take a super horse to beat what might be a super horse in American Pharoah.'^[17]

The city of Baltimore had been in a state of tension due to the death of Freddie Gray and surrounding civil disorder, and the Preakness was the state's major one-day sporting event, viewed as critical in the healing process for the city. Concerns existed because the track was only three miles from the Mondawmin Mall, where there had been riots. Pimlico's former vice-president for communications, Mike Gathagan, stated to ESPN, 'I think sports, like ... the Preakness can help bring back normalcy...It could help start the healing process...'^[18] Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, in awarding the traditional Woodlawn Vase replica to American Pharoah's owner, Ahmed Zayat, stated, 'It's a great day for Baltimore, a great day for Maryland.'^[19] Comparing the 2015 Preakness to the post-9/11 home run of Mike Piazza, ESPN's Bob Ehalt wrote, 'for that reason alone, this could be the biggest and most important Preakness ever.'^[18]

The full chart[edit]

• Winning owner and breeder: Zayat Stables, LLC
• Final time: 1:58.46^[1]
• Margins: 7 lengths, 1 length^[1]
• Track: Sloppy
• Attendance: 131,680

Payout[edit]

The 140th Preakness payout schedule^[1]

• $2 Exacta (1-5) $124.40
• $2 Trifecta (1-5-7) $985.00
• $1 Superfecta (1-5-7-2) $1,906.90

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdefg'Pimlico Race 13 May 16, 2015'. Equibase. May 16, 2015. Archived from the original(PDF) on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
2. ^ ^ab'Press release', Pimlico Race Course Preakness web site, February 18, 2015.
3. ^Hoppert, Melissa (May 16, 2015). 'Preakness 2015: American Pharoah Wins Second Leg of Triple Crown'. The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
4. ^2015 Preakness Stakes Media Guide; page 97.
5. ^Fine, Larry (May 3, 2015). 'American Pharoah rules Derby, next stop Preakness'. Reuters. Yahoo Sports. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
6. ^ ^abMitchell, Ron (April 29, 2015). 'Tale of Verve Among 22 Entered for KY Derby'. Blood-Horse.com. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
7. ^Blood-Horse Staff (May 11, 2015). 'Preakness Stakes Hopefuls Remain On Target'. Blood-Horse.com. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
8. ^Mitchell, Ron (May 13, 2015). 'Mr. Z Bought by Calumet, Entered in Preakness'. Blood-Horse.com. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
9. ^Associated Press. 'American Pharoah Heads Small Field of 8 Horses in Preakness'. ABC News. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
10. ^LaMarra, Tom (May 13, 2015). 'American Pharoah Draws Post 1 for Preakness'. Blood-Horse. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
11. ^'Results - Horse Racing - Daily Racing Form'. Daily Racing Form. May 16, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
12. ^ ^abBossert, Jerry (May 16, 2015). 'Preakness Stakes: American Pharoah races to victory in driving rain to set up Triple Crown shot at Belmont'. The Daily News (New York). Retrieved May 16, 2015.
13. ^Payne, Marissa (May 16, 2015). 'Preakness infield evacuated due to lightning, but the race went on'. The Washington Post. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
14. ^'Live updates: Preakness Stakes 2015 – American Pharoah breezes to win, Triple Crown hopes alive'. AL.com. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
15. ^'2015 Preakness Stakes forecast: How does American Pharoah run on sloppy track? (VIDEO)'. NJ.com. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
16. ^Hegarty, Matt (June 19, 2012). 'Secretariat awarded Preakness record at 1:53 after review'. Daily Racing Form. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
17. ^'Stevens: It would take a super horse to beat a super horse'. NBC Sports. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
18. ^ ^abEhalt, Bob (May 16, 2015). 'Preakness has added importance for Baltimore'. ESPN. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
19. ^'American Pharoah team accepts Preakness trophy'. NBC Sports. Retrieved May 17, 2015.

Twitter Updates on 2015 Belmont Stakes Contenders: Reports indicate that American Pharoah continues to train well at Churchill Downs and hold his weight in preparation for the 147th running of the Belmont Stakes. In this picture on Twitter, his ears seem to be pricked and he gives the impression of a healthy horse. Trainer Bob Baffert is overseeing his conditioning in person. The official Churchill Downs account posted that assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes said “Everything is super positive.” According to Blood-Horse, American Pharoah is scheduled to breeze tomorrow morning.

Keen Ice’s camp hopes to spoil American Pharoah’s Triple Crown hopes on Saturday, June 6, 2015 at Belmont Park. On the official Donegal Racing Twitter, they display plenty of enthusiasm.

Triple Crown Contenders

Keen Ice’s camp hopes to spoil American Pharoah’s Triple Crown hopes. On the official Donegal Racing Twitter, they display plenty of enthusiasm: “Can’t wait to contest for spoiler in the Belmont! Keen Ice has the distance pedigree and the rest that are critical to win. Very excited!” A picture was retweeted of Keen Ice galloping two miles yesterday.

Mubtaahij plans to give challenging American Pharoah another shot next weekend, and he worked five furlongs in 1:00.05 yesterday. The stamina-filled colt has been working quite a bit, with six official workouts recorded for May. Trainer Michael de Kock elected once again not to give Mubtaahij lasix. Also, there is a Twitter account for fans of Mubtaahij with the username “LasixFree.” Irad Ortiz takes the mount on Mubtaahij for the Belmont.

Trainer Dallas Stewart wrote yesterday that Tale of Verve “looks (great) after his (work) 59 galloped out 113.0.” Also, on May 27 the official Belmont Stakes Twitter posted a cute video of Tale of Verve in his stall. The late-running son of Tale of Ekati will receive help in the race from jockey Gary Stevens, who knows how the Belmont works by now and can plot a good strategy for his ride.

Madefromlucky, or whoever runs Madefromlucky’s account, informed followers that he worked in company with fellow Belmont contender Carpe Diem on May 29. Despite a few reminders from the exercise rider, Carpe Diem held the clear advantage throughout the stretch run. Some tweets later, Madefromlucky retweeted a post from experienced clocker “Racingwithbruno,” who wrote “Madefromlucky is sharpening his speed for longer in these works and because he can’t finish with a speed horse like ‘Diem is no knock.”

Carpe Diem’s Twitter account was recently deleted. As written above, he worked well and remains a likely starter for the Belmont. His official time for the team work was 47.66 for four furlongs.

On the same morning Madefromlucky and Carpe Diem worked, Materiality was sent out with Stanford (not running in the Belmont). Stanford held the slightest of advantages on the outside, although Stanford worked fast prior to his initial purchase at Barretts Equine Limited 2014 March Sale and is a sharp morning horse. Materiality was credited with 47.78 for four furlongs.

The beautiful Frosted went out for a spin on May 29 as well, working in 47.84 seconds for four furlongs. He held the advantage over his workmate Tamarkus throughout the drill. Someone who worked with Frosted’s dam Fast Cookie runs the Frosted account.

Triple Crown 2015 Winner

Perhaps the most forgotten Belmont contender, a Frammento Twitter exists and the horse worked in 48 flat for his final major preparation. Most of the status updates and retweeted articles remind followers about trainer Nick Zito’s past success in this race. Zito spoiled Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown bid with Birdstone in 2004 and Big Brown’s attempt in 2008 with the impossible Da’ Tara. His final odds at post will resemble Da’ Tara’s 38/1 odds. On a positive note, veteran Mike Smith decides to give this colt a shot.

The Truth or Else is the last known Belmont contender to emerge. Trainer Kenny McPeek won this race with Sarava in 2002, upsetting War Emblem’s Triple Crown dreams. According to one tweet on Handicappers Edge, which McPeek retweeted, The Truth or Else is bigger and stronger than Sarava. He also retweeted a nine second video of The Truth or Else standing docile in his stall. Edgar Prado will ride, and he rode Birdstone in his 2004 upset.

The 147th running of the belmont Stakes takes place on Saturday, June 6, 2015 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The third and final jewel of the Triple Crown will be the eleventh race scheduled for 6:50 p.m. ET and will air on NBC. See full stakes schedule.

Triple Crown Contenders 2015 Winner

Follow Reinier on twitter.
Follow Lady and The Track on twitter.

Triple Crown Contenders 2015 Results

Related Links:
2015 Belmont Stakes Information and General Tips
The Belmont Stakes is Rich in Racing History
Top 10 Upsets Prove Belmont Stakes to Be No Easy Task
Expert Clocker Gary Young on American Pharoah Bandwagon
Trainer Bob Baffert Quite Familiar with Triple Crown Trials
Belmont Day Features Two Breeders’ Cup Challenge Races
Questioning American Pharoah’s Dosage