American Pharoah's quest for horse racing's most exclusive honor will continue on to the Belmont Stakes after a thrilling victory at the 140th Preakness Stakes. The 4/5 favorite followed up its stunning Kentucky Derby win by outdistancing the field in a driving rainstorm at Pimlico, moving one victory away from immortality.
It was a sterling performance for Zayat Stables and legendary trainer Bob Baffert's horse, as jockey Victor Espinoza had the ride of his life in keeping the Triple Crown dream alive, beating second-place finisher Tale of Verve by seven lengths after pulling away down the stretch.
Divining Rod finished third and American Pharoah stablemate Dortmund rounded out the top four.
Baffert is now 4-for-4 leading Kentucky Derby winners to a Preakness win. Espinoza has made it two years straight winning the first two legs after leading California Chrome to victories in the Derby and Preakness last year.
Only 11 horses have finished off the three legs of the Triple Crown with victories, with Affirmed remaining as the last horse to do it back in 1978. 23 horses have won the first two legs before falling short in the Belmont, but the free-striding American Pharoah has as good a chance of any to stay off that infamous list and notch its name in the history books for all the right reasons.
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