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Kentucky Derby 2017: Prize money break down

By Cody Williams

May 4, 2017; Louisville, KY, USA; Kentucky Derby entrant McCracken exercises during morning workouts at Churchill Downs. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
May 4, 2017; Louisville, KY, USA; Kentucky Derby entrant McCracken exercises during morning workouts at Churchill Downs. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2017 Kentucky Derby will be run on Saturday, May 6 at the historic Churchill Downs and here’s how the prize money for the race breaks down

It’s the first weekend of May and the smell of Mint Juleps is on the breath of the crowds in Louisville, KY. That’s because the 2017 Kentucky Derby is upon us and the crowds are ready to flock to Churchill Downs. After Nyquist’s win a year ago and American Pharoah’s Triple Crown win two years ago, everyone’s excited about what could happen on Saturday, May 6 with the 143rd running of the race.

These thoroughbred horses will take to the track, but they won’t be doing so in ideal conditions by any stretch. Rather than having an immaculate track for the horses to take to, the 2017 Kentucky Derby is about to be drenched in mud. Rain has been all over the area at the end of the week. We saw the Kentucky Oaks run in the mud of Friday and the Kentucky Derby will be the same.

That’s an interesting wrinkle to this whole affair. Many of the horses — favorites and not alike — aren’t accustomed to being run in the rain. Thus, it’s hard to fully gauge which horses will perform well in it.

With that being said, it’s also a your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine type of affair for the 2017 Kentucky Derby. Unlike with horses like American Pharoah, there’s no clear-cut favorite in this group. Horses like Always Dreaming, Classic Empire, Irish War Cry, McCracken and others have shuffled at the top in terms of the odds.

But for the horses and their owners, this is also an event with a potentially huge payday. How big of a pay day? Well, the prize money breakdown for the 2017 Kentucky Derby says that the winner will net $1.24 million and the total purse (money being handed out) will be $2 million, per Sporting News.

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With that type of money on the line, it’s no wonder that owners and trainers put so much stock in this race. Even on a muddy Churchill Downs track, there should be a lot of buzz leading up to the horses getting off to the races.

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