This year's Preakness Stakes was something to behold. After winning the Kentucky Derby just two weeks prior, American Pharoah won the Run for the Black-Eyed Susans in an absolute romp, besting the nearest contender by a whopping seven lengths.

So, surely this means that he's going to go on and win again in the Belmont Stakes, no? With that impressive a race he has to right?

Maybe, but also...maybe not.

This was a grueling race. Although the fractions don't support that (we'll discuss how brutally slow they were later) the track was in horrible condition after clouds dumped what seemed like the equivalent to the contents of the Nile River on Pimlico Race Course just prior to the start of the race.

But, AP was able to overcome all of that and destroy his competition, and we're now set to watch our second Triple Crown bid in as many years reach the Belmont Stakes with a shot to make history.

A good hour or so after the race becomes official, you can normally sneak over to Equibase.com and take a look at the race chart for pretty much any race.

If you're like me, then you got over there and checked this one out right away. If not, then boy are you in for a treat, because I'm going to break down the race chart and provide you with an updated outlook on this year's Belmont Stakes based on that race chart.

Let's begin!

Full Order of Finish

Race-Chart Analysis

Before getting into the race-chart analysis, I'd recommend taking a look at the Preakness replay video below. This will give you a good feel for what I'm referencing in the sections to follow.

Most of the happenings in this year's running of the Preakness can be blamed on the poor weather. The Baltimore area saw a massive downpour just prior to the start of the race, and the track was in terrible condition.

In fact, before we get going with the analysis of this otherwise disappointing race chart, take a look at the reactions gathered from some of the race's major players in relation to the poor riding conditions.

First it was Martin Garcia's turn, via America's Best Racing:

Jockey Garcia/Dortmund (4th): "He didn't like the sloppy track ... Not his best effort today." #Preakness @NBCSports @PimlicoRC

— Americas Best Racing (@ABRLive) May 16, 2015

Now, take a look at the way Corey Nakatani described the track they ran on this year, again, via America's Best Racing:

Jockey Nakatani/MrZ (5th): "I had a great trip other than I felt like I should have been on a shark or a dolphin." #Preakness @NBCSports

— Americas Best Racing (@ABRLive) May 17, 2015

Despite the poor conditions for this year's race, there are a few things that stand out: first, the lack of speed, and the progressively slower nature of each quarter-mile.

Pharoah got out of the gate quickly, and so did Mr. Z. Through the first quarter-mile, the two matched each other stride for stride and posted an opening quarter of 22.90 seconds. The next quarter went in similar fashion, but this time, the field slowed to a time of 23.59 seconds—good for a 46.49 half-mile time.

The third quarter went in a very slow 24.93 seconds, and then things got interesting. Pharoah's lead began to diminish, shrinking down to about a neck as they maneuvered through the final turn.

However, the three-year-old superstar dug in and expanded his lead out to four lengths as they entered the stretch run, and again to seven lengths by the time they crossed the finish line. The final quarter-mile in this race went in a paltry 26.32 seconds, and the remaining 3/16 went in an equally unpleasant 20.72 seconds.

This was a slow race. In fact, after digging through the available race charts for the Preakness Stakes over at Equibase.com—they go back to Hansel's victory in 1991—I found that this was the slowest finishing time since at least the 1991 racing season.

Now, certainly some of the blame for this falls squarely on the weather and the sloppy track, but it also points to the decreased presence of cheap speed since the inception of the Kentucky Derby points system.

Because of this, we're getting a more controlled style of racing in the Triple Crown races, and it's shown in a major way both here and in the Derby.

The second, and possibly the most important thing to note in this year's post-race chart, is the fact that Firing Line never got going after a poor start from the gate. The magnitude of the misstep at the gate is described below by Gary Stevens, via America's Best Racing:

Jockey Stevens/Firing Line (7th): "We stumbled out of the gate and that was our race today." #Preakness @NBCSports @PimlicoRC

— Americas Best Racing (@ABRLive) May 16, 2015

One has to wonder how big a difference the presence of Firing would have made, because quite frankly, the race ran as though he weren't even on the grounds at Pimlico. The poor start was certainly a factor, but it was, again, the track conditions that were most at play.

Another thing to look at moving forward is the fact that Dortmund may have plateaued two races back when he put up a 106 Beyer in the Santa Anita Derby.

Sure, Garcia noted the poor track conditions as a cause for his poor showing, but Dortmund was a virtual non-factor for literally the entire race. It's totally possible that Dortmund will return for the Belmont, but he's not going to beat AP, and he's certainly not going to win the race.

Outlook for Belmont

So, what does this all mean for Belmont? Well, probably not a whole lot.

In three weeks, American Pharoah will look to make history as the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed 1978. While he may very well accomplish that feat, looking at this race as a predictor for the future is a dangerous activity to partake in.

Pharoah was a lock as soon as the rain came. Remember the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes back in March? I do.

AP won in an absolute romp over a sloppy Oaklawn Park dirt track, and as one of the only horses to have even run on a wet track, let alone to post a triple-digit Beyer and win by open lengths, he was the easy pick.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how much this race really took out of AP. Running over a wet track against relatively solid competition is no easy feat, and working over the nearest finisher by seven lengths is surely impressive, but one has to imagine that this was a physically draining race for the Pioneerof the Nile colt.

I'm going to stick with my post-Kentucky Derby prediction that had AP winning the Triple Crown, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him miss the board entirely in the Run for the Carnations early next month.

Pharoah is going to come up against a slew of fresh legs and will most likely come up against Materiality, Carpe Diem and Mubtaahij, among others, all of whom ran in the Derby but skipped the Preakness.

On top of that, Frosted (who finished fourth in the Derby) owns a win over the Belmont dirt track, and that came against arguably a better field of contenders than Pharoah's Preakness win—Frosted won the Wood Memorial at Belmont. Frosted is a huge threat to AP's Triple Crown bid.

The turnaround time is quick when gearing up for a race of this length (1 1/2 miles) and this magnitude, and after a physically demanding race like we saw Saturday, it's nearly impossible to expect a horse, much less a three-year-old, to bounce back into world-class form.

That said, if Espinoza can get his colt out near the lead, anything can happen.

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