Live updates: Preakness Stakes 2015 - American Pharoah breezes to win, Triple Crown hopes alive

American Pharoah led almost from the gates' opening to win the 140th Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. The winner of the Kentucky Derby on May 2, American Pharoah would become thoroughbred racing's first Triple Crown champion since 1978 if he can win the Belmont Stakes on June 6.

After shaking off an early challenge from 16-1 long shot Mr. Z, American Pharoah blistered the other seven horses in the field, winning the Run for the Black-Eyed Susans by 7 lengths. The margin of victory was the largest in the Preakness since Smarty Jones won the 2004 race by 11 lengths. American Pharoh's winning time was 1 minutes, 58.46 seconds.

Kentucky Derby second-place finisher Firing Line never seemed to fire from Post No. 8, stumbling out of the gate and doomed to a wide run in the mud. Instead, 25-1 long shot Tale of Verve made a big run down the stretch to take second place in the sloppy conditions. Tale of Verve beat Divining Rod to the line, putting two non-Kentucky Derby runners in the top three at Pimlico.

Bob Baffert, American Pharoah's trainer, has brought four Kentucky Derby winners to the Preakness, and all four of them won, with Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998 and War Emblem in 2002 preceding American Pharoah. None of them, of course, won the Belmont Stakes, as Affirmed's sweep in 1978 remains the most recent of the 11 Triple Crowns.

"I don't even want to think about it right now," Baffert said of the Triple Crown in a TV interview immediately after the race. "It's tough. It's tough up there."

The order of finish for the Preakness was American Pharoah, Tale of Verve, Divining Rod, Dortmund, Mr. Z, Danzig Moon, Firing Line and Bodhisattva.

American Pharoah became the 14th horse since Affirmed to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.

Jockey Victor Espinoza, who poured water out of his boots after the race, will become the first jockey to run for the Triple Crown three times. He did so last year with California Chrome and in 2002 with War Emblem.

"Hopefully, the third time is the lucky charm," Espinoza said before even dismounting American Pharoah.

Despite leading virtually the whole way, American Pharoah seemed to slow on the backstretch before being turned loose by Espinoza with the far turn in sight and Mr. Z and Dortmund closing on him. American Pharoah ran away to victory down the stretch.

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American Pharoah at 46.4 seconds through the half-mile, faster than in the Kentucky Derby.

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American Pharoah and Mr. Z 4 lengths up at the quarter-mile pole.

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American Pharoah goes off as a 4-5 favorite with the bettors.

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This will be the first Preakness Stakes run on a sloppy track since 1983 when Deputed Testamony ran to victory. A race on the Preakness undercard today was named for the 1983 Preakness winner. Of the eight horses in the field, only American Pharoah and Mr. Z have experience on a sloppy track.

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Raining hard for the "Riders up" command for the Preakness Stakes. Time for the singing of "Maryland, My Maryland" by the U.S. Naval Academy glee club.

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The horses are being saddled for the Preakness Stakes -- six inside and two outside. As at the Kentucky Derby, Dortmund seems to be the most rambunctious of the group. Dortmund is picking up a little steam with bettors. At 9-2 about an hour ago, Dortmund's odds to win are down to 4-1.

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AL.com readers favor American Pharoah to win the Preakness Stakes. In an online poll, 39 percent of the voters picked the Kentucky Derby winner to add the second jewel of the Triple Crown, too. Firing Line received 28 percent of the vote, Dortmund 13 percent, Divining Rod 7 percent, Danzig Moon and Mr. Z 5 percent apiece, Bodhisattva 2 percent and Tale of Verve 1 percent.

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The walkover is underway as the horses head from the barn to get saddled.

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Victor Espinoza, American Pharoah's jockey, escaped injury when his horse, Grand Tito, had an incident in the gate loading for the Dixie Stakes. The Dixie Stakes was the race before the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday. Grand Tito was scratched, and Espinoza headed to the locker room to train into the silks of Zayat Stables for the Preakness.

Espinoza owns two Preakness wins, riding War Emblem in 2002 and California Chrome in 2014. Both those horses also won the Kentucky Derby. If Espinoza can ride American Pharoah to victory in the Preakness, he'd become the first jockey to ride for the Triple Crown three times at the Belmont Stakes on June 6.

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If the Preakness Stakes started right now, rather than about 45 minutes from now as scheduled, American Pharoah would go off at even money to win, still the favorite, but slightly less so than in the morning line. Pimlico's track handicapper established American Pharoah as a 4-5 favorite on Wednesday.

Firing Line, who was 4-1 in the morning line, is 5-2 with bettors. While Firing Line has been more attractive to wagerers, Dortmund has not. Current odds on the biggest horse in the race are 9-2, compared to the morning line of 7-2.

The current lines for the other Preakness entries are 12-1 for Danzig Moon and Divining Rod, 15-1 for Mr. Z and 25-1 for Bodhisattva and Tale of Verve.

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Among the celebrities at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore for today's 140th running of the Preakness Stakes is Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. He made an appearance at the Under Armour tent for the event. Newton won the Heisman Trophy and led Auburn to the BCS national championship for the 2010 season.

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Thunderstorms are approaching Pimlico, which could make for a sloppy Preakness in about 75 minutes. Water already is an issue at Pimlico Race Course today. American Pharoah ran to a 6-length victory at the Rebel Stakes in sloppy conditions on his way to the Triple Crown races. The horses considered American Pharoah's top challengers -- Firing Line and Dortmund -- have no racing experience in wet conditions.

Another water issue has caused several sets of toilets to be shut down and backing up some of those still open, the Baltimore Sun reported.

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Two minutes on Saturday afternoon will determine what avid sports fans will be doing on June 6. How's that? The Belmont Stakes is scheduled for June 6, and if American Pharoah wins the Preakness Stakes this afternoon, it will set up another chance at Belmont Park for thoroughbred racing to have its first Triple Crown winner since 1978.

Post time for the 140^th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore is scheduled for 5:18 p.m. CDT Saturday. NBC will televise the race.

Thirty-four horses have won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, including 13 since Affirmed did so in 1978. None of those 13 could follow Affirmed by also winning the Belmont to become the 11^th Triple Crown winner and the third in six years.

The other Triple Crown winners have been Sir Barton in 1919, Gallant Fox in 1930, Omaha in 1935, War Admiral in 1937, Whirlaway in 1941, Count Fleet in 1943, Assault in 1946, Citation in 1973, Secretariat in 1973 and Seattle Slew in 1977.

American Pharoah will run against seven other horses in a bid to keep alive his chances to join that group. For the first time since 2009, the Preakness includes the top three finishers in the Kentucky Derby, with Firing Line and Dortmund joining American Pharoah.

Rachel Alexandra, who didn't run in the Kentucky Derby, beat the boys as the rare filly to win a Triple Crown race in the 2009 Preakness. The last time the top three in the Kentucky Derby finished in the top three in the Preakness came in 2007, when they went across the line Street Sense, Hard Spun and Curlin in the Derby and Curlin, Street Sense and Hard Spun in the Preakness.

After finishing a length behind American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby, Firing Line is getting solid wagering support for the Preakness after drawing post position No. 8 while American Pharoah got the rail post. However, in the past 50 years, only two Derby runners-up have won the Preakness -- Summer Squall in 1990 and Prairie Bayou in 1993.

Rachel Alexandra also was a relative rarity as a new Triple Crown entry, or "new shooter," to win the Preakness. That's happened three times in the past 25 years. However, the new shooters are often a good bet to finish in the money despite their high odds. In those same 25 races, at least one of the non-Kentucky Derby horses has finished in the top three in the Preakness.

Tale of Verve, Bodhisattva and Divining Rod are the new horses in Saturday's race.

The other two horses running in the Preakness didn't figure in the Big Three's battle for the Kentucky Derby. Danzig Moon finished fifth and Mr. Z 13^th. However, 10 of the past 30 Preakness winners finished fifth or worse in the Kentucky Derby, including Louis Quatorze, who won the Preakness after finishing 16th in the 1996 Derby.

The horses will run 9.5 furlongs -- 1 and 3/16^th miles -- on Saturday. The Preakness is 1/16^th of a mile (or half a furlong) shorter than the Kentucky Derby.

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