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American Pharoah Wins 2015 Kentucky Derby

American Pharoah reigns supreme at the 2015 Kentucky Derby!

The 2-year-old champion ridden by Victor Espinoza beat out the field of 18 before a record crowd of 170,513 at Churchill Downs on Saturday, capping the two-week-long festival featuring bizarre hats, fancy dining and powerful thoroughbreds.

Firing Line came in second, followed by Dortmund. The win would be jockey Espinoza’s second straight at the Derby.

The speedy colt American Pharoah was the favorite heading into the 141st running of The Derby, with odds of 5-2. American Pharoah had won his past four races, and it was Espinoza who rode California Chrome to victory in 2014.

Experts’ second-favorite horse was Dortmund, with odds of 3-1. Both horses were trained by the Hall of Fame inductee Bob Baffert, who secured his fourth Derby win. Baffert could also take credit for the horse finishing third.

Dortmund set the pace at the start, closely followed by Firing Line and American Pharoah. But as the 1.25 mile race wore on, American Pharoah made a move for the lead and held it across the finish line first, securing a $2 million guaranteed minimum purse.

The race time was 2:03.02, run under sunny skies.

“I’m speechless,” American Pharoah’s owner Ahme Zayat said. “We are very blessed.”

“We were ready to rumble,” Baffert said. “I just love what I saw today from both of my boys.”

American Pharoah makes a bit of an oddball champion, having an abnormally short tail, and a misspelled name (Pharoah”). But who doesn’t enjoy a victor with some character?

The rest of the results follow, beginning with fourth place:

Frosted, Danzig Moon, Materiality, Keen Ice, Mubtaahij, Itsaknockout, Carpe Diem, Frammento, Bolo, Mr. Z, Ocho Ocho Ocho, Far Right, War Story, Tencendur, Upstart.

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